


Blood Street

by Galactic_Ink



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Drama, Humor, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Romance, Violence, Yaoi, street gangs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-06-04 00:01:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 59,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6632407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galactic_Ink/pseuds/Galactic_Ink
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The City is divided amongst the gangs. The Heroes have a part of the west and General Winter Gang had part of the north, but in school territories don't apply. *Based off my Collection of Ink Prt. 2 ficlet*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blood Street 1

  **.+*Chapters 1-5 have been edited*+.**

  **.+*Blood Street mix tape available on 8tracks! Titled Blood Street (chp 9.1 has details)!*+.**

* * *

**Hetalia: Axis Powers**

**RusAme**

** Blood Street 1  
**

 

His breath came out in ragged huffs as he ran through a back alley. He could still hear the running feet of the rival gang, and he had a feeling he wouldn't be getting away as easily as he'd thought.

"Jones!"

A smirk appeared on his face, hidden under a star spangled bandana. His converse pounded against cracked pavement and exposed brick as he dipped through the dark streets. He was close to his territory, nearly home free, but one stupid slip up had him falling onto his face. A loud curse escaped his lips as he tripped over a large trash bag and collapsed on top of it.

"Ow, _fuck!_ " he hissed, his chest aching from the impact.

As he started to pick himself up he could hear the footsteps getting closer, and he cursed once more as he found himself surrounded.

"Alfred Jones, so nice of you to finally stop. We only want a _civilized_ conversation."

A series of cackling laughs broke out at the sarcastic statement. Alfred got up from the ground.

"So, what brings you here Jones? You know this is my territory."

Alfred swallowed thickly as he caught his breath and looked at the leader of the gang, Ivan Braginsky. With the colors of purple, black, and blood red, Ivan ruled the northern part of the city with his General Winter gang. He was also the biggest asshole in Central High School. The Russian glared at Alfred as he stood silent before him.

"Uh, you got the wrong guy," Alfred said, trying—and failing—to disguise his voice.

Ivan smirked, knowing full well that the teen behind the bandana, baseball cap, and hoodie was none other than his archrival.

"You really want to play around, don't you, _Jones_?" Ivan asked, amused. "Though I admit it's not surprising, since you are the ringleader of that pathetic circus you call a gang."

Alfred gave a light laugh and shrugged his shoulders.

"The Heroes are no more a circus than you are a whore, Braginsky—but then again I don't know what you do in your spare time," Alfred said tauntingly as he looked Ivan up and down.

Ivan was dressed in a black trench coat that had a blood red snowflake patch. The coat hugged his form and made him look even taller than what he was. A cream colored scarf, which Alfred he wanted to use to chock Ivan with, was wrapped snugly around his neck.

"Always with the jokes," Ivan muttered, annoyed, as he started to walk around Alfred.

Alfred watched Ivan circle him, and his usual band of thugs smirked at him. They knew what Ivan was about to do, and so did Alfred, having been in this situation numerous times. He couldn't help that he wanted to fuck with Ivan. The guy was just asking to be fucked with, with how he managed his gang.

"I'm feeling merciful today, so how about you tell me what you was doing here and I won't break your teeth in. I know you have to give your speech tomorrow in class, and it'd be a shame to damage that pretty face," Ivan said with a leer as he adjusted his coat and pulled out a long pipe, no doubt swiped from a construction site.

"Fine," Alfred stated then reached up to pull his star spangled bandana down off his mouth, "I was here returning the gift your idiots gave to me. You tag me and I tag back. It could have been worse, but I felt merciful too." Alfred looked directly at Ivan, not backing down from his intimidation act.

Ivan frowned as he heard this, and tapped his pipe against his shoe. He looked at his gang carefully, and before the one he had signaled out with his eyes could even react, the pipe was connecting to his face. The force of the impact sent the teen to the ground as he howled in pain, his cap flying off his head as it whipped to the side.

"Ah, damn it! What the fuck was that for?!" the teen shouted, holding his face in pain.

"Gilbert, I know it was you that did it," Ivan growled at the albino. "I didn't order you to tag Alfred, yet you did anyway. I know you think you're being "awesome", but you're truly an annoyance. If you don't stop, I can promise you the next thing I hit won't be so easy to heal."

Gilbert snarled at Ivan, but the Russian just scoffed at him then looked back at Alfred.

"Looks like you're guys aren't very loyal," Alfred said, and Ivan was instantly in his face, his expression dark with distaste.

"Like your gang of kindergarteners are any better," he spat.

"At least my kindergarteners know how to act," Alfred retorted, then glanced down at his watch to see it was already past midnight. "Look, it's getting late, so how about we kiss and make up, then beat each other up later?" Alfred suggested as he gave Ivan a smile, completely unfazed as Ivan rested his pipe on his shoulder.

"You are too cocky, but I'll agree. I will hold you to that beating," Ivan said coolly as he trailed his pipe along Alfred's cheek.

Alfred looked at Ivan oddly, but nodded his head and shoved the pipe away.

"You are the creepiest asshole ever," Alfred said. "You know that?"

Ivan laughed at this, then moved to punch Alfred square in the face, but stopped his hand just before it collided with his nose.

"Get the hell out, Jones."

Alfred moved to the side to see Ivan's face, rather than his fist, and gave an over exaggerated love-struck sigh.

"Alright babe, see you later then," Alfred said teasingly, then blew a kiss to the other teen before turning to his gang. "Nice to see you assholes as well."

Ivan shook his head, and Alfred waved goodbye as he started to back away.

"I look forward to bashing in your pretty face, Jones!" Ivan called out.

"I'm touched!" Alfred shouted back, then turned away and took off to his territory.

Once Alfred was out of sight, Ivan's smile stayed firmly in place and he looked back to his gang.

"Well, let's head back," Ivan said. His tone made it clear that it was a command, not a request. "I believe some of you need an attitude adjustment, da?"

He stepped toward Gilbert, who was still sitting on the ground. He grabbed the albino by the collar of his jacket and shirt, and proceeded to drag the older teen behind him as he headed off to their hangout.

 


	2. Blood Street 2

**Blood Street 2**

Alfred scurried through the backstreets, until he was in the area of the city that he spent the first 16 years of his life in. He moved quickly through the battered yet decent neighborhood, keeping to the shadows to avoid being spotted. Alfred was almost home, and he didn't need any more trouble. He hid behind a cluster of trashcans as a portal car drove past checking for any minors out after curfew.

Once he was in the clear, he slipped through a broken chain-link fence, and raced through the backyard it was meant to protect. He repeated this process two more times before he got to his own yard. He stood on the top of the wooden fence that boarded his house, and jumped onto his neighbor's tree that hung over his yard. He climbed his way up the trunk and through the branches to get onto his roof, then moved to the open window that belonged to his twin. He slipped into the room effortlessly, easily stepping into the clean room and avoiding the nightstand that resided by the window.

Once he was fully on the worn carpeting, he lowered the window then tiptoed out of his brother's room. The blonde was asleep in his bed tucked away in the corner, oblivious to Alfred's presence, but Alfred knew that his twin was aware of his creeping. Matthew always had a way of knowing when he'd sneak out, no matter how well he covered his tracks.

Alfred tiptoed across the room, opening the bathroom door that connected his room to Matthew's slowly, and closed it gently as he stepped through. He didn't make a sound as he moved through the bathroom as he got to his door and opened it to his room. The instant his door was shut he let himself relax, and sagged against the faded blue door. When his racing heart finally calmed down, he pulled off his hood and bandana then pulled off his jacket completely. He then took off his hat and tossed it onto his desk, before working his feet out of his high-top sneakers. He yawned as he went about the troublesome task of undressing and hiding his clothes in various parts of his messy room.

His body moving on autopilot as he tossed his hoodie under his bed, threw his shoes in the closet, shoved his bandana with the others hidden under his mattress, and moved his hat into his desk drawer. Once everything was put away, he tossed his pants into the hamper and slipped on an oversized shirt depicting Taz from _The_ _Looney Tunes_ , and flopped onto his bed. There he laid on top of his pulled back bedding, and as he let out another yawn he lazily took out his contact lenses. He buried his face into his pillow and just as he was about to be carried off to sleep the image of Ivan flashed through his mind.

_"I look forward to bashing in your pretty face, Jones!"_

"I can't wait to beat his fuckin' face in," Alfred muttered into his pillow.

Ivan had been a thorn in his side since middle school, and it only got worse when they reached high school. They had once been friends, but once you get picked up by the older kids to join their gang in order to protect others or protect yourself, a rift tends to occur. Alfred had been selected by Sam, who had been with him and Matthew since middle school. Alfred didn't figure that out until he reached 9th grade, freshman year of high school, when he was deemed old enough to join Sam's gang of Heroes. Matthew had been selected with him. He had been against it for a solid month, but Alfred's constant pleading had worn him down to accepting it.

Alfred had become Sam's right hand man the moment he got into high school, and once Sam graduated when he reached his current grade (10th); he became the sole leader. Alfred was the leader of his friends with his twin as his right hand. He didn't mind being a gang leader, it was fun, exciting, and had its heroic moments. Matthew had grown to enjoy it himself, though he did exercise caution a little more than Alfred would ever care to.

Ivan, on the other hand, got into his gang for shits and giggles—someone once said he did it to protect his sisters, but who knew if that was true. It was said that Ivan had beaten up the former leader of the group and took his place. Nobody really remembers how Ivan came to be leader when he entered 9th grade, but all that mattered now was that he was there. Even though no one recalled how Ivan become the boss it was very noticeable when it happened. The General Winter Gang become more horrifying than ever when Ivan came to power. Ivan was a force to be avoided or you'd risk getting your face smashed in, or some other part of your body, with his pipe. Ivan could make anyone afraid of him; just standing around other people made them uncomfortable. He also had an uncanny ability to annoy Alfred in all the wrong ways. Alfred seemed to have the same effect on Ivan.

 _'Fuckin' Braginsky's gonna get his,'_ Alfred thought bitterly as he recalled Ivan's "pretty" comments.

Ivan didn't usually complement his good looks, and it surprisingly didn't bother Alfred as much as it probably should have.

Alfred let out a sigh as he rolled over and got under his covers, having gotten cold from not wearing pants. He yawned again as his eyes landed on the clock glowing on his nightstand, only to see it was well beyond 1 in the morning. He groaned, then pressed his face roughly into his pillow. It took longer than he would have liked, but he finally went to sleep, though his thoughts of Ivan morphed into a dream. A dream of which Ivan's "pretty" face got bashed in with his brass knuckles.

** :/:/:/:/: **

"Al… Alfred… Alfred, wake up!"

Alfred popped up in his bed as he found his oxygen to be cut off, looking around frantically as he felt whatever had been cutting off his air leave him. He panted raggedly as he looked around his room, before setting his eyes on a person who looked just like him. He furrowed his brow at seeing his mirror image standing before him. It took a disappointed look _very_ close to his face from his other self to realize it was his brother.

"Oh, morning Mattie," he drawled.

Matthew rolled his eyes and watched his twin sit up with a yawn.

"So, what happened last night? I take it nothing, since you don't look like you got hit by a car," he said, crossing his arms.

"Okay, first of all," Alfred said, "How do you always know when I go out? And second of all, Ivan wants to 'bash in my pretty face'—" Alfred batted his eyes mockingly "—but that's the usual. I gave back his gift. Turns out that he didn't even know his guys did it. Apparently it was Gilbert," he added as he grabbed his glasses with another yawn.

He slipped them on to see his brother clearly, unwilling to deal with his contacts just yet.

"Well that's unusual…" Matthew commented then gave a hum. "Oh well, at least you didn't get beat up. Also, to answer your first question, I knew this particular time because you told me while you was ranting about the tags."

"Oh… Well, whatever."

Matthew sighed heavily at his brother, then started to leave the room.

"Whatever my ass," he said. "Now hurry up and get ready. We got school at 8:30, in case you forgot. Mom is still passed out, so get ready quietly, unless you want her wrath upon you… _again_ ," Matthew teased before leaving the room.

Alfred gave a fake laugh as Matthew left, then reluctantly stumbled out of bed. He went about his normal routine; dragging himself to the bathroom to use the toilet, brush his teeth, and shower. Afterwards he got dressed—today's outfit was black skinny jeans, a NASA t-shirt, and red converse—then hauled his backpack and himself down to the kitchen for breakfast.

"What's on the menu, oh brother of mine?" Alfred asked as he sat down at the small table in the kitchen.

"Your favorite," Matthew said simply, and before Alfred could guess he set a plate with a toaster strudel and chocolate chip pop-tart in front of him.

"Fuck yeah!" Alfred cheered as he got up to get a can of soda from the fridge.

Matthew sat down with his own plate of toaster strudel and pop-tarts, though he had a glass of milk instead.

"You should really try to drink the milk we have," Matthew mentioned before taking a bite of his food.

"Well, I'm tired, and Voltage will wake me up," Alfred defended.

The blonde sighed at his brother's less than healthy eating habits, but went on about his own breakfast.

It wasn't long before a knock came to the front door, alerting the twins to the time. They both grabbed their backpacks and rushed out of the kitchen—though it was more of Alfred rushing than Matthew, who stayed behind to put their dishes in the sink. Because of this, Alfred made it to the front door first and opened it to see his gang standing outside. Everyone was dressed like any average sophomore in high school, as to keep police and other authority figures off their backs, and appear as the smart kids they were. None of their families knew of their activities, except for siblings and/or cousins who were also in gangs.

"Ready, Alfred?" Kiku asked as he looked at his friend and boss.

"Yup— _but_ ," Alfred turned his head at that moment and practically yelled, "Mattie sure is taking his sweet time though!"

His twin's reply was instantaneous.

"Shut up! You want to wake up Mom? And you know how she gets when we leave shit out!" Matthew defended.

Alfred just scoffed and turned around to smile at faces around him. Kiku was a genius and calm 13 year old who looked like he was incapable of anything except skipping grades. But truth of the matter was that if you pushed him the wrong way, or even if he just _felt_ like it, he would break your arm. Kyle was a 16 year old energetic ball of muscle that wouldn't hesitate to start a fight. Arthur was a 17 year old "gentleman" as he liked to call himself, but Alfred had never met a gentleman that could turn around and ruin your life without a second thought; he had dirt on everyone. Francis was the same way, though with a playboy act instead of a gentleman, but because of that it got Francis kicked out of his previous gang: Bad Touch. Arthur and he tended to fight each other—a lot. Eliza was one 16 year old not to fuck with, and it was a miracle that she joined Alfred's gang of Heroes. If you asked why a pill pusher joined a drug free gang, well, she'd say: "Alfred saved my life." Which was true.

Matthew, Alfred's twin brother and right hand man to his gang, had an innocent face that kept Alfred from getting caught numerous times. However, that innocent face could disappear as fast as snow in sunshine if you got on his bad side. Last but not least, Alfred himself, the boss in charge. He knew he was looked down on by other gangs and even students at his school because of his anti-drug policy and lack of "stability". In truth, he was sharper than anyone gave him credit for, and that was how he liked it. The surprise he got from showing off his intelligence and skills was always a treat.

"Alright, I'm ready," Matthew said as he finally came out the house, closing the door behind him.

As the gang of seven headed for school, Eliza was the one to ask how Alfred's "gift return" went. She had asked to come along, like the others of the gang, but Alfred had refused all of them.

"Well, I got a tag right on the corner of Queen Ave. and 9th Street," Alfred said proudly, and Matthew instantly knew what building it was.

"You tagged the building that's right in front of Ivan's hangout?!" Matthew said incredulous, and amazed that Alfred was still standing before him and not laid up in a hospital.

Alfred smirked at hearing this and nodded his head. He dug into his pants to get out his phone and showed off the picture of his tag. The picture showed a large H with a cape hanging off it and stars was painted against a brick building in bright colors. His gang praised him enthusiastically, which made his smirk grow into a grin.

"But he did catch me," he admitted as he put his phone away, "I tripped up on the run back, and he got me, but because of that we have a date," Alfred said happily, and his friends already knew what that meant. A "date" was Alfred's code for a scheduled fight, though sometimes it didn't seem so clear. The 16 year old was a bit eccentric. "Same place, same time, and I have a feeling I'll finally bash in Braginsky's fucking teeth."

"Is this date exclusive?" Kyle asked, eager to fight as usual.

"Nope, it's a group date, so ya'll should wear your best!" Alfred informed.

The gang of teenagers agreed, ready and willing to let all hell break loose. It had been weeks since their last fight, and they were aching to have a go at someone.

Around 8:15 Alfred and his friends arrived at the front of their school. It was a massive building standing proudly with its lack of graffiti and a policeman at the door. The new principal had placed cops throughout the school in order to cut down on fights, fake bomb and gun thrusts, trashcan fires, and other illegal activity. It was working well, which made school less stressful—to some, that is. The others found school to be more of a bore than ever now that all the fun was mostly sucked out of it. The new principal had some balls—just like his kid, whose name no one could pronounce, so they called him Indi. Alfred, along with others, were itching to get at the kid, but he was always surrounded by people, just like he was now.

Indi was stepping out of a sleek black car with his driver standing with him, acting like a guard. The gang watched him from the stairs, eyeing his prep school worthy attire. As he ascended the stairs, he had his driver talking with him all the way up until he stepped into the school. That where he was instantly mobbed by kids who admired him.

"Well, well, well. Looks like the circus is in town again," came an amused voice.

Alfred turned his head from the scene to see Ivan Braginsky and his followers coming up to the school as well. Alfred looked at the band of teens with a grin on his face, his eyes landing on a badly-bruised Gilbert. He had a band aid doing a poor job of hiding it, as well as a few red lines on his white skin.

"Heh, and it looks like the number one whore in town has arrived to suck off the principal, as always."

Ivan's smirk twitched at hearing that and he took a step closer, but a hand grabbed his elbow. He looked back to see Toris shaking his head, and it was then that he realized he had intended to fight Alfred right then and there. Toris was his right hand, much like Alfred's brother. He kept Ivan in check and covered for him when otherwise he'd be caught.

"Aw, getting held back, that must be _frustrating_ ," Alfred teased.

Ivan sighed as he heard the innuendo and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as he saw another group of teens pass them by. At the front of the group was Yao, and all who followed was part of the Far East Dragons. They were strictly made of seniors, and unlike Alfred and Ivan, they dealt out drugs without care in the world. Mostly dope and pills, or whatever else they could get their hands on.

"Out of the way, kids," one of them said, while another shoved one of Ivan's guys.

The Far East Dragons were on another level, and even though only six of them were in their school, what made them a large group was the fact that they protected kids if paid well enough, which explained the extra five that walked within their gang. The rest of their actual gang went to other high schools around the area. Unlike other street gangs, Yao had plans to make his the best and most feared, and wanted to be in control of it for as long he lived.

Once the group was out of the way and into the school Kiku suggested they get going as well. Seeing Yao was something Kiku hadn't counted on, and having been spotted by the 19 year old so earlier in the day was not good for him. Alfred understood this, knowing that Yao was Kiku's cousin, and had been trying to make him join his gang even though he wasn't a 12th grader.

"Well, see you inside, Braginsky. Don't wanna ruin that perfect attendance, ya know?" Alfred joked, then led his people inside.

Ivan just stared at them as they passed by, and Toris urged Ivan to do the same. The Russian would rather grab Alfred and punch his face in, but he knew he couldn't. Instead he shook Toris' hand off of him and walked into the building.

The instant he stepped foot into the main hall, everyone still out and about quickly tried to make themselves invisible. Everyone knew Ivan's gang to be one of the cruelest to ever exist.

Gilbert was Ivan's loose cannon who would do anything and everything—if he could manage without getting Ivan, his straight-and-narrow little brother Ludwig, or his parole officer breathing down his neck. He was also once part of the Bad Touch gang, but once he let his impulses ruin a "delicate" situation he was kicked out. Toris was physically harmless, but he wouldn't hesitate to ruin someone's image, either by giving Ivan suggestions on how to hurt them, or by hacking into their social accounts. Feliks was the same as Toris, though he liked to say he did his job better than his boyfriend. Ivan's little sister, a freshman to the high school scene, could rip out anyone's throat if he let her. Ivan didn't want her in the group because he didn't want her hurt or in trouble, but Natalia was one resilient 15 year old. Plus, their older sister Katyusha approved, but she did warn if something happened neither would be happy when she found out. Anica was a strange 17 year old, but he was one hell of a fighter, so Ivan put up with it. Sadiq was the same—a little less strange, but just plain loud.

But of the members of their gang, Ivan was by far the worst. The rumors about him ranged from correspondence with the KGB to murder. He was smart and short tempered, but he had a soft spot for his sisters (and absolutely no one else).

This was the General Winter Gang, and as they moved to their lockers then dispersed to go to their classes, not a soul was left in the hallways out of fear.

* * *

***Yas, Blood Street is here! I'm going to be posting chapters every Saturday!**

**Now then, just want to make this clear, since some of yall tend to not know some nations. (I've finally learned my lesson from A Change (- J-)) KYLE - Australia | ANICA - Romania **| INDI - India (that one I made up >J> the others can be found on the wikia page)****

**Anywho, hope you guys like it so far, and that its not too much of a mess. (I didn't give myself a break after finishing A Change so I'm kinda, bleh)* Reviews Welcomed!***

 


	3. Blood Street 3

**Blood Street 3**

 

Ivan didn't mind school as much as others believed. He rather liked it for many reasons: 1) it got him out of his house, 2) He got to see other students fear him, which was always a confidence boost, and 3) he got to see Alfred every day, which meant he could fuck with him every day. His day was never complete without at least tossing an insult or two at the blonde. He shared four out of the eight classes he had with Alfred (granted that one period was lunch). Those four periods where his own personal heaven, but also hell when he had his off days.

Currently, reason number three was what he was enjoying; starting his day off right: first period history. Alfred sat two rows over and a seat ahead of him in the classroom. He was too far away to do anything directly, but just staring at him until he got uncomfortable was enough most days. In his other shared periods he sat much closer, or just enough, to do direct damage.

He sat in his back row seat on the far left of the room, watching Alfred doodle in his textbook. He had only seen Alfred become serious in class around test time, or whenever the words "important" and "quiz" came from their teacher's mouth. He knew Alfred had good grades from the amount of times their teacher commented on it. Acting as if it was big surprise every time a test was handed back. Ivan received the same treatment as well. It wasn't his fault that he was smart yet lacked the motivation to show effort in front of his teachers.

Ivan let out a sigh as he watched Alfred draw, then smiled as he saw the blue of Alfred's eyes turn back to him. Alfred glared at the Russian behind him then focused back on his drawing. Ivan's smile only grew wider. He then started to daydream of the fight ahead. He couldn't wait to hold Alfred's head up by his hair, and punch that pretty face until his nose was broken.

He honestly didn't know when he started to call Alfred pretty, but it didn't bother him. Alfred could pass for a girl if he wanted, that was for sure. Even though he was muscular, he still had curves—which Ivan only knew from seeing Alfred shirtless during a fight. Ivan could say that Alfred was an excellent fighter, and he wouldn't mind having him in his gang—except for a few issues. Alfred didn't know when to shut his mouth, he was too loud, and he was a 'die hard hero', which he constantly claimed to be.

 _'If only he would be less annoying, then he'd be my ideal…'_ Ivan mused, picturing a calmer Alfred in his mind. _'Although, I would miss fighting him… My ideal…'_ Ivan thought, then paused as he pondered exactly what his "ideal Alfred" was. _'If he would act less of an idiot that would be nice…and his face really is pretty, so his looks wouldn't be a problem…'_ he furrowed his brow as he thought this, then shook his head mentally—wanting to forget everything he just thought.

He focused back on the lesson as a piece of paper was handed to him, then looked over to Alfred, who was working on the worksheet already. Ivan didn't know what sort of conclusion his mind was trying to come to, so he decided to ignore it in favor of the worksheet.

** :/:/:/:/: **

By 4B, it was Ivan's lunch period, which happened to be Alfred's as well. This was a time between 4th period, the longest period of the day. 4th period was broken into 3 parts: 4A was class time for Ivan and Alfred, 4B was lunch, and 4C was class again. Although, Ivan and Alfred did not share the actual class part of 4th period. It was also during this lunch that it was more distinct of who was in a gang and who wasn't.

Ivan's table was against the glass wall on the right side of the cafeteria. The table only seated himself and the few members of his gang that shared his lunch. Alfred's table was in the middle of the cafeteria. Against the back wall, which was also made mostly of glass, sat Yao's gang, though Yao himself never ate in the cafeteria. There was a door on that back wall of glass that led to the courtyard that was off limits–except, apparently, for Yao and his right hand Lau. It was said that those two were in a relationship, but nobody had ever been able to prove it.

In the left side corner was the Vikings, a gang of only five that was ruled by Matthias and Berwald, two very tall and very dangerous 12th graders. Even though there was only five of them they managed to hold a very wide territory in the northern part of the city. The Bad Touch crew was also situated on the left side of the cafeteria, which even though Francis and Gilbert were ex-members and ex-bosses of the gang, they still spoke with Antonio, the sole leader of the gang. Antonio's boyfriend Romano, however, did have quite a bit of backseat leadership.

The rest of the crowd in the cafeteria where just normal students. Some feared for their lives, while others didn't care what happened as long as it didn't affect them. Along with them was a healthy sprinkle of pill pushers, weed dealers, and other solo acts. Even some of those "normal" kids relied on those dealers to get through the day.

The students that resided in the 4B lunch was only a sample of how all the students in the school were. But because of the gangs' heavy presence during lunch, not a single one of them dared to fight each other. There would be the occasional shouting match, but nothing more, since they didn't want to cause trouble with other gangs or the five cops that watched over everyone.

Ivan's lunch was as peaceful as always due to this unspoken rule between gangs. He was content to just eat and listen to his gang, as well as burn holes into the back of Alfred's head. However, his sisters had other plans.

"Vanya, I want to fight with you tonight," Natalia said firmly as she looked at her brother.

Ivan instantly snapped his eyes to her, then to his older sister beside her. Katyusha was like their mother—a mother who would break anyone who messed with her family, but would also break her children if they did something reckless. She didn't seem like the type at all, but that was only the surface of Katyusha. Ivan didn't even have to voice his disapproval because Katyusha beat him to it.

"Natalia, no. You know I will not allow you to fight. I barely tolerate you being in Ivan's gang."

Natalia glared at her sister, and Katyusha only looked back at her with a mix of forced calm and badly-disguised weariness.

"Natalia, she is right." Ivan said as he looked at his family. "You know I would have said no even if she didn't."

Natalia held her glare for a while longer before dropping it. Katyusha smiled at seeing this, and at her brother, before going back to her food. Ivan only sighed in relief at dodging a fight between his siblings, and went back to eating as well. He loved his sisters, and did everything he could to protect them with his gang. Their parents didn't know about anything they did, but he knew they could care less. His father was always busy working as a lawyer, and his mother was always busy fucking on the side. His father knew this too, but he didn't care. His "wife" was there to watch over his children, even though she didn't do a very good job of it.

"Natalia, since you will be staying home, and I don't have any club meetings today… how about we make those pyramid chocolates you wanted?" Katyusha suggested happily.

Natalia's irritation melted instantly, and she agreed with a quick nod—until she realized what she did, which brought back her bad mood, and her agreement to the offer of chocolate became bitter. Katyusha just smiled once more and patted Natalia's back approvingly. Ivan smiled at his sisters, then looked around his table to see his gang completely oblivious to his family matters, as they should be.

When lunch was concluded, and Ivan got to enjoy reasons one and two of his schooling for the rest of his 4th period and into his 5th and 6th. By 7th and 8th period he got to enjoy reason number three again. 7th period was integrated chemistry and physics and 8th period was English. Ivan had been waiting eagerly for English because Alfred sat right beside him and he had to give his speech today.

Ivan had already given his speech the day before, and he could recall clearly the annoyance Alfred turned out to be. The blonde was constantly staring at him, unblinking, like a doll, and when their teacher wasn't looking… Alfred had had a good time yesterday to put it simply, but now it was Ivan's turn. As he thought about it, Ivan realized he was going to have a _very_ good day. Not only did he get to annoy Alfred during his speech, but he'd get to punch his face in later.

"Alfred, you're up first," Ms. Boostavess said as she picked up her pen to start grading.

Alfred looked to his side briefly, catching Ivan looking at him, then looked ahead as he carried his papers to the front of the class. He laid out his papers on the podium and faced his class to see everyone looking at him, but Ivan. He furrowed his brow as he noticed the Russian to be looking past him.

"Alfred, begin," came Ms. Boostavess' voice.

Alfred snapped out his confusion and looked back to his teacher, who just waited on him.

"O-Oh, right, right, sorry. Um, so, I…"

Alfred began to give his speech on the topic of why space exploration was a must. Ivan listened intently, but kept his gaze past Alfred, staring at the whiteboard behind his head. Alfred found this extremely distracting, and he didn't understand why-whether it was curiosity in him wanting to look behind him or not.

Ivan sat at his desk with a twisted grin on his face as he looked past Alfred. Alfred's anger towards the Russian only grew as his speech went on. He ranted internally, about it, though a few choice words slipped out into his speech, which he quickly covered up.

 _'Real mature fuckin' Braginsky! It must be painful for you not to look at my "pretty" face! Asshole!'_ Alfred seethed in his mind.

Ivan was always very… _consistent_ , with eye contact, he never avoided anyone's gaze. So it was slowly eating away at Alfred that the teen was not looking at him directly. He didn't know why he cared all that much, but he did, and he wanted to punch the smug look off of Ivan's face right then and there as he concluded his speech.

He walked back to his desk with his eyes fixated on Ivan. The Russian kept looking past him, and once he sat down Ivan's smug look seemed to be as bright as a neon sign at 2 am.

"Nice speech, Jones."

Alfred glared out of the corner of his eye only to see Ivan still not looking at him.

"Really? Even though you didn't look at my _pretty_ face the whole time?" Alfred asked in a shocked, yet hushed voice.

Ivan gave a hum to this then shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll have the pleasure of seeing that face later tonight, with my fist in it," he said softly.

"That hand's gonna be broken before you get the chance," Alfred retorted, his voice rising slightly.

"I'd like to see you try that, Jones."

"It'll be my fuckin' pleasure, you piece of—"

" _Alfred_ Jones and _Ivan_ Braginsky!"

The two gang leaders looked straight ahead to see their teacher looking at them with an irritated look.

"You two," She said firmly as she pointed a finger at them then jerked it to the door. "Get out. It's evident you don't need this class today," she snapped.

"Whatever you say, Ms. B," Alfred replied, which got him another heated glare from his teacher.

If looks could kill, he would have been disemboweled. Alfred just smiled back then turned to get his backpack, but as he bent over to get it he shot Ivan a scowl. Ivan just let out a sigh at having his fun ruined. Not many teachers still had enough backbone to deal with them, but Ms. Boostavess was one of the few that did. He didn't feel like arguing with the woman and gathered his things; he would rather not risk a phone call home.

As Alfred shoved his notebook into his backpack, Ivan picked up his own and they left. Both of them trudging out of the room, and they automatically took to roaming the halls. They didn't even bother with trying to seem like they'd be good students and stay outside the classroom door.

"Hey Ivan?"

"Yes?"

"Why the hell you following me?" Alfred asked as he started to descend a flight of stairs. "Unless, you wanna get a preview of my skills before tonight, then you could have just asked," he finished as he stopped on the landing.

Ivan smirked at hearing this and shook his head as he got to the landing. The stairwell was empty except for them, and the outside light poured in from the three tall narrow windows.

"Alfred, you are a nuisance, and as much as I'd enjoy beating you right now—"

"You beat off to me?!" Alfred questioned loudly in mock horror, his voice resonating in the empty stairwell.

Ivan did not take Alfred's words kindly, and shoved the blonde against a wall before Alfred could even blink. The empty stairwell echoed with the sound of Alfred's body being slammed into wall—his backpack making a crunching noise from the force.

"Why would I cum to the image of trash?" Ivan hissed as he held Alfred's shirt tightly in his fist. Alfred just smiled and laughed where he was pinned. "Your brother looks better than you, and yet you two share the same face. I bet he's sucked off all your friends, or maybe it's a family effort?" Ivan continued as he smirked at Alfred.

Alfred's amusement from his situation was instantly gone at this comment. His blue eyes took on a dangerous gleam that Ivan only witnessed during fights or when he was pushed too far. They kept their eyes on each other a while longer before throwing a punch, but not completing it. Both stopping their fists just inches away from the other.

"Don't you _ever_ say _anything_ about my brother, or _even_ think of him, you piece of _shit_ ," Alfred growled.

"Oh, looks like you can't take an insult after all," Ivan said with a smirk.

"Heh, yeah? Well, I heard Katyusha—"

Alfred didn't get to finish his sentence as Ivan moved his hand from Alfred's shirt to his throat.

"You don't want to finish that sentence," Ivan said simply, a twisted grin coming to face.

Alfred kept his cold look in place as Ivan looked at him with a disturbed expression. Both of them stayed silent, quietly thinking of how to deal with each other, whether to kick Ivan in the leg, strangle Alfred, poke out Ivan's eye, rip off Alfred's dick—the usual dark thoughts that filled their heads during heated moments. However, none of their ideas took action as the final bell rang throughout the school. Both of them tensed at hearing it then relaxed enough to drop their hands; Ivan letting Alfred go and Alfred putting his fist into his pants pocket. Their hearts raced as they continued to look at each other with caution, and as students came down the stairs—Ivan gave a soft smile. He reached out to touch Alfred's shirt; the blonde just eyed his hand as he straightened out the wrinkles he caused, before Ivan said:

"See you tonight, Jones."

With that, Ivan took his hand back and headed down the stairs, which were surprisingly empty. The only cause for it was that the other teens around had noticed them and took the other staircase. Alfred just eyed Ivan's broad back as he left, but he didn't let him get the last word.

"Yeah, don't forget the lube!" Alfred called.

Ivan's smile twitched at hearing this, but he kept walking. He couldn't wait for nightfall.

* * *

***So this chapter's kinda, meh, in the beginning, sorry :T I would fix it but I don't have time. I'm killin myself over this final project and studying at the moment, as well as finally GRADUATING from the hell known as COLLEGE! Anywho, I try to remember to clean it up later, but til then, see yall next Saturday! ^J^***


	4. Blood Street 4

  **Blood Street 4**

 

Ivan looked at his clock, urging time to move faster. He tapped his pencil rhythmically against the homework he had yet to start. He couldn't focus on anything but the clock, if he tried his mind would instantly start to wander. Imagining the look of pain and regret on Alfred's face during their fight, breaking his nose, breaking his baseball bat (if he brought it), breaking a finger or two—Ivan could go on forever.

He sighed as he looked away from the clock to his homework. He wrote down the math for two of his problems before his focus was taken away again, but this time by a voice.

"Ivan, do you like causing trouble for me?"

Ivan froze at the question, then gave a short shake of his head.

"Look at me," his father demanded, and Ivan slowly swiveled his desk chair around.

Ivan's father, Aleksis Braginsky, was a tall, lean man, but had the strength to lift almost anything. He was a well-known and highly regarded lawyer that could make anyone confess to their crimes and regret their life—except for his son.

"Do you know how irritating it is to get calls during work from your school?"

Ivan stared at his father blankly, and the man just sighed and put a hand on Ivan's shoulder.

"I need you to act your age. Your sisters can do it, but it seems that you can't. I don't want any more phone calls. It's an embarrassment," he said coldly. "Perhaps your looks are the only thing you got from me," the man muttered, mostly to himself, then let go of Ivan. "That reminds me…"

His father pulled out his cellphone, and dialed a number as he started to turn around. When it picked up he started to leave the room, but Ivan was able to catch: _"Where are you, woman?"_ spoken in Russian, before his father was out of his room.

Ivan didn't say anything during the absence of his father, only turning back around and eyeing the clock.

 _'Three hours left,'_ he thought bitterly, then looked back to his homework as his need to punch Alfred increased.

He honestly had thought Ms. Boostavess would keep her mouth shut, but clearly he was wrong. His father getting on his case from a small incident was not going to dampen his fun. Thus he kept his thoughts solely on Alfred to keep his anticipation of the events to come. He could picture the fight in his head already—Alfred laying on the ground with him on top. His hand holding his blonde hair, while he punched him in his pretty face until it was covered in blood and bruises. He would never go so far as to give Alfred irreversible damage, like losing a tooth—no. He wanted Alfred's face to always be same so it would always have that look, which only he could drag out of Alfred during a fight. Eyebrows furrowed, eyes wide and wild, a scowl or stupid grin that showed off his teeth, and since he didn't wear glasses during gang activities, he'd be able to see Alfred's freckles scrunch up around that stupid grin. He didn't know what it was, but that face always got his blood boiling.

Driving that stupid, cocky, pretty, face into the pavement as he'd pin Alfred by sitting on him. Rubbing his hands over his body, and biting his neck to make him scream louder. Seeing Alfred a wounded mess under him as he'd lick the bite mark, and start to move down his body. Feeling the muscles in Alfred's back until he got to his pants, were he'd rip them open and off with his pocket knife. Alfred cries out for him to stop, he fights him, but his fighting soon fades, becoming very accepting as Ivan grabs his—

"Vanya!"

Ivan popped up from his desk so quickly that he nearly fell off his chair, but thankfully Natalia was there to steady him. He looked around himself, confused and disoriented, but his mind quickly cleared as he realized that he was still in his room.

"Are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?" Natalia asked as she looked at her brother with concern.

Ivan furrowed his brow at this then thought back on it, coming to the realization that he had fallen asleep. He had dreamt everything—the pain, the pleasure, Alfred… He couldn't even begin to comprehend what was going through his mind.

"I-I'm fine. What is it?" he asked as he ran a hand through his shaggy hair.

"Toris and the others are here. They said they called you, but you didn't answer."

The Russian instantly whipped around to look at his clock, and saw that he was now running late for his dat—fight.

"Chert poberi!" he cursed then got up from his desk.

Natalia stepped back as she watched her brother start to get ready. He grabbed his pipe from his closet, a pocket knife from inside his pillow, but then stopped and dropped the thing like it was on fire. Natalia kept her gaze on Ivan while he took a deep breath before kicking the knife under his bed. He then moved on to his dresser to get brass knuckles from his pajama drawer. He grabbed his coat and filled the interior with his weapons, then slipped it on and patted Natalia on the head as he left his room.

 _'Keep it together. It was just a dream. It's not like you enjoyed it anyway,'_ Ivan told himself, though he stopped midway on the stairs to look down at himself. He couldn't see a bulge in his pants, but he felt a little stiff in his lower half. _'I'm going to kill Jones,'_ he vowed bitterly, then rushed out of the house through the backdoor.

He walked around the large yard and slipped between the hedges dividing the front and back yard. When he stepped through, all thoughts about his dream were gone. His focus was on his gang standing on the sidewalk a few feet away from his house. All that mattered now was beating up the Heroes and enjoying every moment of it.

"Sorry I'm late, I was… thinking of how Alfred would need corrective surgery after the fight, and lost track of time," Ivan lied, though it did hold some truth.

The gang laughed at Ivan's words, then silenced themselves as their leader started led the way to the fight ahead.

The usual place that they fought was a park that no one dared to visit at night unless it was to commit a crime. Lampposts lined all the walkways, showing only some of the trash and graffiti that covered the place. A river split the park in two—and once Ivan crossed the bridge that connected the two halves, he could see Alfred and his circus waiting for them.

"Well hello, Braginsky. It took ya long enough! Having trouble putting on your makeup?" Alfred sneered as he stood up from the bench that he and his crew were crowding around.

"Well in that time you've probably sucked off everyone in your gang twice by now," Ivan said with his typical creepy smile.

Alfred's demeanor darkened for a moment as he recalled what had happened at school. Ivan did as well, ready to fight the blonde any second, but instead Alfred laughed loudly at and held his stomach as he bent forwards.

"O-Oh Gawd, no, no, that's probably why you was late!" He declared through giggles, losing his serious edge as he wiped away a tear.

Ivan scowled at Alfred then started to look past him as he said:

"Enough talk Alfred. You said you was going to break my fingers this time, I want to see you try."

Alfred calmed down as he looked at Ivan, then glared at him as he realized he was looking past him.

"I'm so ripping your fucking eyes out too," Alfred seethed as he walked up to Ivan.

Alfred grabbed Ivan's coat, and they stared at each other, though Ivan still looked past him. Alfred raised his fist to show off the brass knuckles on his hand, but before he could use them, Ivan jabbed his pipe into Alfred's stomach, which started the fight.

The General Winter Gang and Heroes clashed in the dimly lit park. Since both gangs had equal numbers in people everyone was paired off and fighting, even the ones who were not much for physical fighting did what they could. Though no one could be compared to Alfred and Ivan when it came to fighting.

Alfred fell back as Ivan smashed his pipe into his leg, but Alfred brought him down with him. Grabbing onto Ivan's coat, forcing him down on top of him then rolling over to straddle the teen.

"That hurt!" Alfred growled out through clenched teeth, as he grabbed Ivan's wrist.

"Are you going to cry about it?" Ivan huffed out as he tried to get his hands free.

"You wish!" Alfred stated, then leaned forward and bit Ivan's hand.

The Russian hissed and his grip on his pipe lessened just enough for Alfred to shake it out of his hand and use his good leg to kick it away.

"Now we can have an up-close and personal fight babe," Alfred said sweetly as he smirked at Ivan before decking him in the face.

Ivan snarled at the impact, his nose throbbing from the punch. He glared up at Alfred and rolled them over before he could punch him again, banging Alfred against the pavement as he got on top of him. Alfred gasped and looked dazed as Ivan pinned him down and put a hand on his throat. The Russian didn't squeeze, just holding the threat of doing so, for now.

"You want an up-close fight, then you have it, dorogoy," Ivan said gruffly, and Alfred shivered at hearing the words.

He wasn't sure if it was out of fright or hearing Ivan's accent, but he couldn't dwell on such ridiculous ideas when he couldn't breathe. He flailed under Ivan as he tried to get him off, but Ivan wasn't budging. The teen was staring at him with satisfaction in his eyes and something else that made Alfred feel hotter than the burning in his lungs. The sight of Ivan, bruised with blood dripping from his nose, eyes fixated on him like a piece of meat, hair dirtied and sticking up, and the way he sat on him—able to feel his lower half pressing against him—made Alfred feel his pants getting tighter. As he was choked under Ivan's hand he could feel himself getting stiff, but he knew it couldn't be of his own free will. It wasn't his fault this was happening, it was Ivan's.

 _'That's right, all Ivan's fault! Lack of air can make a guy hallucinate! I bet a cactus would get me hard right now!'_ Alfred reasoned with himself, and then as he felt himself starting to lose consciousness he got an idea.

"A-Air ya—ger had?"

"What did you say?" Ivan asked in a dark tone, a smile plastered to his face.

He didn't know why, but choking Alfred was more exciting than ever before.

"A-Ah—Are you, getting _hard_?" Alfred forced out, and in an instant Ivan let go of him like he had caught on fire.

The question had instantly brought Ivan's senses back along with the dream he had. He quickly scrambled off of Alfred, and the blonde laid coughing and hacking on his back. Ivan looked down at himself to see if he was erect but couldn't tell, and he couldn't focus his mind enough to sense it either. He hoped to god that Alfred was just messing with him. Alfred, on the other hand, was hard as a rock, and even as he got his breath back he remained as such, but he didn't let Ivan see it. He rolled over onto his side and smirked at Ivan. He didn't know if Ivan really was hard—he had only said it to get the other off, and it had worked.

Alfred took deep breaths as he sat up and when he looked up at Ivan the other seemed worried about something. Alfred furrowed his brow at the look, but it was soon gone as Anica was thrown between them, and an annoyed looking Kyle got on top of him and punched him in the face. Both of the teens looked at each other as their friends fought and realized that they were still fighting.

Alfred was the one to make the first move, scrambling to his feet and going after Ivan. The Russian went to hit Alfred with his pipe, but remembered it was taken from him earlier, thus he was left in the open as Alfred punched him in the ribs with his brass knuckles. Ivan coughed raggedly as he felt the air in his lungs leave him. Alfred went to punch him again, but Ivan grabbed his wrist then wedged his leg between Alfred's. Before the blonde could even notice or fear that Ivan felt his erection, Ivan yanked Alfred's leg with his own, making him lose balance, and slammed Alfred into the ground once more. Alfred cried out as he felt the pain of something digging into his back and his injured leg twist painfully, and Ivan smiled at hearing it. He returned Alfred's punch to his stomach, as well as his face. He lifted his fist to give a follow up punch to Alfred's already bruised face, but a high pitched siren went off before he could.

Everyone instantly froze where they were and looked up to see a cop car flip on its lights as it came down the walkway.

"RUN!" Matthew shouted, and everyone instantly scattered as the cop car stopped and the doors opened.

Two officers in black instantly started shouting and running after everyone. Alfred pushed Ivan off of him and took off running after his brother. Ivan himself was grabbed by Toris and dragged to his feet to get him moving. Alfred ran as hard as he could, but the hit he had gotten from Ivan's pipe to his leg was flaring up badly with each pound of his sneakers.

"HURRY UP!" Matthew shouted as he finished crossing the bridge and headed for a parking lot just a ways down a path.

"FUCK!" Alfred shouted, and as he got to the bridge he tripped over a broken plank.

He slammed down onto the wood, and before he could even get to his feet, his ankle was snatched. He cursed loudly as he was dragged backwards by a cop, and Matthew stopped in his tracks as he heard it. The blonde twin made a move to go back for Alfred, but Alfred screamed at him to run. Matthew stared as his brother as the cop sat on his back and cuffed him. Alfred could only watch his twin as he was Mirandized and stripped of anything he had on him. Kiku noticed this and grabbed at Matthew's arm and yanked him away, both starting to run again back to their side of town.

"Let's go, punk," the officer said gruffly as he peeled Alfred off the ground and dragged him to the car.

"Shit! That hurts! My leg is broke man!" Alfred yelled, though he wasn't sure if it truly was, it felt like it though.

"Well that's your own damn fault," the cop said before throwing Alfred into the backseat.

Alfred cursed as the door slammed shut and banged his head on the metal grate separating him from the front of the cop car. The officer then got into the vehicle, which already had his partner sitting in the driver seat.

"You got one too, huh?" the diver side cop asked (a middle aged looking man with a beard) as he started to drive the car.

"Yup, these kids get worse every month," the officer said as he buckled in.

Alfred glared at the cops as he laid back into his seat, then looked to the side to see who else got caught. To his unrelenting bad luck, Ivan Braginsky was the one the cop in the driver seat had taken. Ivan laid slouched against the window and Alfred wondered if the teen got tased. He got his unvoiced question answered when the passenger side cop took notice of Ivan.

"You tased the kid?"

"Had to, he came at me with that," the bearded cop said as he nodded his head to the pipe laying between them.

"Wow…"

The officers went on to bad mouth Ivan and Alfred, but the blonde tuned them out. He looked over to the Russian to see him still limp and he briefly thought he was dead. He didn't know the voltage of a taser, but he hoped that it wouldn't have stopped the heart of 17 year old.

 _'Wait, why do I care if he's dead? I wanted to kill him myself anyways, they just did it for me and now I won't have to be tried for murder,'_ Alfred thought happily, but as the idea sunk in he found his heart aching from the thought of losing Ivan _. 'It would suck not to have my own punching bag anymore…'_ Alfred reasoned, though he knew that was not the only reason.

He had known Ivan for years, they had once been friends, but it had fallen apart quickly when Ivan had appeared as Vlad's replacement. He felt a lot of emotions in the short moment that proved that it wasn't just that he'd miss Ivan as an enemy and ex-friend, but he wasn't able to dwell on it for long. The car hit a pothole that could have been the size of Texas by how jostled Alfred became from it, but because of it he slammed into Ivan, who also hit the car window. The ash blonde groaned from the impact and lolled his head away from the window, leaning onto Alfred, who froze from the contact. It didn't last long however, Ivan soon leaning back onto his side of the car, then shaking his head as he sat up straighter and opened his eyes. All that Alfred could think of was: _'He's alive.'_

Ivan moved his hazy violet eyes to see the two cops through the grate, and he cursed in Russian as he remembered what happened. The car jostled again and his attention was taken as something soft falling into his body. He looked to his side to see Alfred looking at him with relief on his face. He furrowed his brow as Alfred looked at him and said:

"Chto eto?"

Alfred's look of relief was replaced by confusion, and Ivan just groaned as he adjusted himself before trying again.

"What is it?"

"O-Oh, nothing, I mean—I just thought you was dead is all," Alfred said, hiding the concern from his voice.

"I was tased, not shot," Ivan hissed as he felt his body ache.

"I know that!" he stated then added with a huff, "Should have been a stronger taser."

He was trying his best to play off his earlier thoughts.

 _'Get it together, Jones!'_ he berated himself.

"Hey, shut up!" one of the cops growled.

"How about you shove—" Alfred quickly shut his mouth as the cop that had apprehended him pointed a taser in his direction.

Alfred couldn't hide the look of fear on his face at that moment, but it didn't stay long. It changed to one of blank shock as Ivan moved to block Alfred from the taser.

"Iv—"

Ivan stepped on Alfred's foot to shut up him up, not wanting his name to be said aloud. Though the cop couldn't tell, and just eyed Ivan hard before putting the taser away and facing ahead. Ivan then moved away from Alfred and rested back on his side of the car. Alfred looked ahead to see the cop gone then to Ivan amazed.

"Just shut up and this will be over soon," Ivan whispered as he kept his eyes out the car window.

Alfred just nodded his head and did as told.

_'He defend me…?'_

** :/:/:/:/: **

"Alright, you two get to share this lavish cell together until we're ready for ya," said the bearded cop, while the other one pushed the teens into the holding cell.

"Ready for what?" Alfred asked, though he knew what it could be.

"You'll see," said the officer that had pushed them in as he locked the door.

The cops then smiled at them and left the room; leaving Alfred and Ivan by themselves in the holding cell. No one else was in the area, and Alfred took to looking around the cell. A bed was anchored to the wall while a toilet and sink combination sat in a far corner. A large plastic picnic table sat in the middle of the room, which Ivan was sitting at.

Alfred couldn't help but look at everything around him, it had been years since he'd been in a cell. The last time he was in one was when he was 12 for shoplifting food. He claimed that the Funyuns had spoken to him to justify his actions, which only made his mother annoyed, his brother laugh, and trying his damnedest to save face in front of the cops. It was a hilarious day in his mind. He committed shoplifting since he was 9, but after his Funyuns incident he gave it up after a thorough punishment he never wanted to go through again.

"Are you excited to be here?" Ivan asked as he watched Alfred move around in the cell.

"Not really... Just, I haven't been in a holding cell since I was 12," he admitted, then sighed and sat down on the bench.

"Good for you," Ivan said sarcastically, but Alfred just ignored it and thanked him to be annoying.

Ivan rolled his eyes, and Alfred eyed him before asking:

"Have you been arrested before?"

Ivan looked to Alfred as he asked this, then opened his mouth to respond, but the cops arrived at that moment.

"So, Alfred F. Jones and Ivan Braginsky. Nice names boys," the younger looking cop said, but something about the way he said Ivan's name seemed odd to Alfred.

It wasn't the pronunciation, just the tone, and Ivan noticed it too because he was smiling.

"Alfred, you have quite a record, you little criminal," the bearded cop stated, and Alfred just batted his eyes and smiled. "We've taken the liberty of calling your mother already." Alfred's smile instantly faded and he gave a curse under his breath. "Yeah, shit is right, you are to stay here until morning."

"Fuck me," Alfred groaned.

"And you Braginsky, can go whenever you feel like it," said the younger officer.

Alfred looked at Ivan in shock, and Ivan just smiled more creepily at the men.

"You contacted father?" he asked in a voice that was dripping with amusement.

"Uh, no, no we hadn't, but it's obvious that the son of such a, glorious man, can do as he wishes."

"Da," Ivan stated, and stood up from the table.

Ivan walked up to the cell door, which quickly opened and he was soon uncuffed. He rubbed his wrists and looked back at Alfred smiling.

"Well, I believe I'll see you in school," Ivan said to Alfred, who still had his stunned expression. "Where is my pipe?" Ivan asked as he turned to the officers again.

"Right here, along with everything else."

Ivan was given a bag filled with all the things that he had, and went about putting everything back on his person. During that time Alfred finally snapped out his trance and just glared at Ivan.

 _'So you stand up for me then leave me here?! Fuck you_ _too, you prick_ _,'_ Alfred thought bitterly, though it wasn't Ivan's fault he was still to remain in the cell.

Alfred let out a defeated sigh and moved from the table to lay on the bed in the cell. When Ivan finished with putting his things back in their place he looked at Alfred, and as much as he'd love to leave the blonde…a part of him disagreed.

 _'What am I doing?'_ he thought as he looked to the officers once more.

"Could you, let Alfred out as well? He's a dear friend of mine," he said coolly. The officers didn't move an inch until Ivan said, "Or I can just have my father get him out later."

Alfred was quickly freed and given his things back, and soon both were shoved out the station and onto the streets. Alfred stood on the sidewalk completely at a loss, and Ivan just smiled at him creepily.

"Good night, Alfred."

Alfred watched Ivan take off down the sidewalk towards his home, and Alfred just stared at his back as he was left.

"What the fuck just happened?"

* * *

**Translations:**

Chert poberi – Damn it

dorogoy – darling

Chto eto? – What is it?

***So, how'd yall like it? I'm not gonna, this is by far my favorite chapter just because of this fight XD I've written out up to 8 chapters as of now, but it still isn't done yet ^J^ It's not gonna be a long story like A Change though, promise that.**

**Anywho, REMINDER updates every SATURDAY, Reviews welcomed, and THANK YOU to everyone who's commented before! It really does the heart good to see yall like the story so far. I've been worried that not many people would get into this fic because of drugs, violence, my attempt at humor, and things to come :T ***


	5. Blood Street 5

  **.+*Chapters 1-5 have been edited*+.**

* * *

**Blood Street 5**

Alfred groaned as he as he fell though his brother's window. His aching body falling through with a loud thud, alerting his brother instantly to his presence in the room.

"What the fu—Alfred!"

Matthew quickly turned on his nightstand lamp and grabbed his glasses as he saw his brother laid out on the floor.

"God Mattie, my leg is fucked up. It's _so_ fucked up," Alfred whined, a hiss coming though his words as he tried to move said leg.

It felt like it really was broken and heavy as led. It had honestly been the most painful walk home he'd ever done, and he nearly cried from the pain when he maneuvered onto the roof of his home.

"Kill me," he groaned out, and buried his face into the carpet as Matthew crouched down beside him.

Matthew quickly moved to grab Alfred's leg and push the pant leg up, but Alfred was wearing skinny jeans and the action made Alfred let out a hiss in pain.

"Just take them off," Alfred growled out through clenched teeth.

Matthew was already working on doing so and soon had his brother's lower half bare except for his boxer briefs.

"Oh man, Al it looks bad," Mathew observed as he saw the large area of discoloration on his brother's leg.

"Is a bone popping out?" Alfred asked, then hissed as Matthew barely touched the skin.

"No, but you could have a fracture or something," Mattie informed. "How did you even get here? I thought you was being held overnight?" he questioned as he looked at his twin.

"I was, but—" Alfred paused as he tried to sit up, but failed. " _Shit_ —I was, but Ivan got me out."

"What?" Matthew asked unbelieving.

"For real. Braginsky got me out of holding and before that he fuckin' defended me against the cops! He got fuckin' _tased,_ Mattie, and the instant I get threatened to be tased he stands up for me! To a cop!"

"What?!"

"Exactly! It makes no sense!" Alfred declared as he looked at his brother amazed.

The twins had the same look of amazement on their faces, until Matthew dropped it to speak.

"Well, I guess he's not that much of a bastard after all."

"I guess…but he fucked up my leg, so he's still a major asshole," Alfred said as he tried to sit up once more and succeeded. " _Fuck_."

Alfred got a good look at his leg for the first time, and knew that it was going to be a bitch to deal with.

"Is mom here?"

"No, she's at the hospital, but she's really pissed at you Al. She already yelled at me when I got back, but she was ready to rip you a new one."

Alfred sighed at hearing this and just knew that'd be the case.

"Figures… Welp, broken or not I'm just gonna slap some Icy Hot on this and go to sleep."

Matthew couldn't agree more with this and helped his brother to his feet, then carried him off to his room. He crossed through the bathroom and set Alfred on to his bed. He then went back to his own room to get Alfred's pants and shoes as well as grab Icy Hot from a bathroom drawer. He held the jar tightly as he looked in the wide mirror and saw Alfred stripping down to nothing then grabbing his Taz shirt and putting it on. In that short moment Matthew could see the bruises and scratches on his brother's body. Matthew sighed at the sight then moved to grab peroxide, disinfectant, cotton balls, and bandaids. He then walked into Alfred's room to see his twin splayed out horizontally on his bed, his legs dangling over the edge. Matthew set down the things he had and grabbed Alfred's computer chair. He pulled it up to the bed and eased his brother's leg into his lap. As he set to putting the muscle relaxer on Alfred's leg he looked up to see Alfred wince in pain.

"Alfred…Do you think we should quit? The gang I mean," Matthew asked.

Alfred reached a hand to his glasses, having removed his contacts a while ago, and put them on before sitting up on his elbows.

"What?"

"Al, just… We'll be seniors in a couple years and… You got arrested today and by some unholy force Ivan Braginsky got you off scot-free! I like the gang, I do, but… I don't want to see you or anyone getting taken like that. I honestly thought I'd never see you again, since you already had a record," Matthew admitted as he looked at his brother with worry.

Alfred looked at his brother, then slumped back onto the bed with a sigh.

"I'm sorry Mattie. I know you haven't been arrested, but it's not that bad."

"Al—"

"Everything's fine, Matthew. I get it. We can't be thugs forever right? That's why we gotta pass it on to some other kid that comes along," Alfred said with a smile coming to his face as he looked to his brother. "Don't worry, and I promise I won't get arrested again. I would have made it if Ivan hadn't fucked up my leg."

Matthew let out a deep sigh at hearing this, but decided let it go.

"Alright, fine," he said. "Now sit up. I saw you're pretty banged up, so take off the shirt."

"Oooh, playing doctor, are we?" Alfred asked with a dry laugh.

Matthew didn't say anything to Alfred's teasing, and just yanked the shirt off his brother in a way that made him groan in pain.

"Ya know, you can't manhandle your patients when you do become a doctor," Alfred said with a slight whine.

"Well, you're my brother so I can manhandle you all I want, and shut up—I love you, but not like that!" Matthew retorted, and Alfred started laughing at getting cut off from a golden opportunity.

Matthew couldn't help laughing himself as he cleaned his brother's wounds. It was after four in the morning when Alfred was finally taken care of. Matthew gathered up his things, and as he went to leave Alfred said:

"Hey, can you get me those painkillers and some water real quick?"

"Sure Al."

Alfred sat up weakly in bed and heaved a sigh as he ran a hand through his grimy hair. The whole time Matthew had patched him up and he told him more of how he and Ivan got arrested, Matthew's words of concern had stayed in his head.

"Here ya go."

"Thanks," Alfred muttered before downing the water and pills, then setting the glass on his nightstand for later. "Hey Mattie…Really though, don't worry. We're not gonna be thugs forever… though it would be kinda cool."

Matthew rolled his eyes at his brother and told him good night before leaving the room. Alfred just smiled at Matthew as he left, then laid down in bed once he was alone.

_'Today did not go as planned.'_ Alfred thought as he let out a sigh, and let his exhaustion finally take him.

_Alfred strolled through the park on a quiet night. He didn't know why or how he got there, but he wasn't going to bother himself with details. Everything was peaceful and he rather liked it that way, but his peace was ruined as he felt something tap his shoulder. He turned around to come face to face with a fist, a fist that drove right into his face and sent him to the ground. He sputtered as he looked at his assailant and recognized them as none other than Ivan Braginsky. He cursed as he got up and tackled Ivan to the ground and started to punch him back. They rolled around on the ground as they fought each other, but soon Alfred found himself pinned down. He bucked his hips and wiggled around to throw the other teen off, but Ivan only seemed to smile more and hold him harder._

_Alfred glared at Ivan and cussed him out as much as he could, but his words were losing their bite quickly as Ivan descended upon him. The Russian was speaking his native tongue as he got close, too close, then become silent as he ran his tongue along the length of Alfred's neck. Alfred shivered at the contact, which he failed to suppress, then let out a yelp as he felt Ivan bite into his shoulder. The pain was throbbing, but Ivan lessened it by licking the wound, then kissing it, and slowly trailing up his neck. Alfred tried to ask Ivan what the hell he was doing, but his words failed him with each kiss and suck Ivan gave to his neck. He had his eyes screwed shut as he tried to tell himself that what was happening wasn't happening, but as he felt his jacket unzipping, his shirt lifting, his pants becoming undone, and his underwear being pulled off, well… It was hard to believe himself. He didn't open his eyes until he felt Ivan's cool lips kiss down his body and latch onto his cock._

_Alfred's eyes snapped open, and he looked down at Ivan to see him sucking him off perfectly. He writhed and bucked under Ivan, but soon stopped as he felt him pull away. He looked up to see Ivan start to undo his own pants. Alfred stared at him, but he guessed he must have blinked, because the next thing he knew Ivan was inside him. He could feel the other deep in his body and he wanted more. He moved to latch onto Ivan, but stopped himself as he registered just what they were doing and told Ivan to stop. That they couldn't do this in public, they could get arrested, and as if on cue, a cop car appeared out of thin air. Its lights flashing and siren cutting off just as two cops came out the car. Alfred tried to get away from Ivan at the moment to flee from the cops, but Ivan held him down and he tried to fight off the cops with his pipe as he made love to Alfred. The Russian defended Alfred from the officers as he spoke in Russian that sounded menacing yet sweet._

_Alfred found himself pleading with Ivan to stop and run, but it was too late and Ivan got tased. Alfred watched in stunned horror as Ivan convulsed, and he felt like crying when Ivan fell on top of him. He reached up to touch his face, but Ivan was grabbed and ripped from him, his cock being yanked out with him, and Alfred was yanked back as well. He found himself thrown into the cop car with Ivan and as he looked at the smug officers and Ivan's limp body, he thought the teen had died. He started banging his feet against the grate and doing anything he could to piss off the cops, but the result was himself getting tased. Ivan was still knocked out, or dead, so he couldn't defend him. The pain that ripped through him was nothing he ever imagined, and as he fell over Matthew's voice filled his head—the plea to quit the gang was clear in his ears—and then—_

He woke up.

"Fuck me running!" Alfred hissed out as he woke up startled and in pain on the floor of his bedroom.

He cradled his head as he felt it throbbing, and rolled to the side slightly to grab something that was digging into his head. What was causing the pain was a toy car that normally sat on his nightstand, which he guessed had fell down when he did. He groaned as he sat up then sucked in a sharp breath as a new pain flared up and he looked to his leg. The leg that Ivan had hurt was tangled in the sheets on his bed and he did not have the energy to free it. Thus Alfred did a series of awkward maneuvers to work himself back up on his bed, and once he was finally back on it he collapsed. He laid in silence as he tried to reason why he had fallen over or woken up at all, and that's when his dream hit him. Harder than any punch Ivan could throw at him and he felt his face catching fire.

"Oh gawd!" Alfred drawled as he put his hands to his face. "What the fuck?! _What the fuck?!_ " he asked himself aloud as his heart started racing.

Images of his dream filled his head—some clear as day and some vague—and he felt like dying when he realized he was hard. He could feel his erection pressing against his cool underwear, and put a shaky hand to it to discover it had a wet spot.

"I can't believe this," Alfred said despairingly and moved to lay on his stomach to hide his shame, but his injured leg didn't agree with him. "Fuckin' hell," he growled out as he rolled over onto his back.

_'Okay, okay, just… calm down._ _You had a sexy dream about Ivan. So what?_ _That's not too bad, right? It's just a dream, and it's not like you'd actually want him to fuck you!'_ Alfred told himself inwardly, which he agreed to, but as his dream kept itself in the forefront of his mind, he wasn't so sure. He could still feel every place that Dream Ivan had touched him and as he placed a hand to shoulder to find it unmarked he felt disappointed.

_'What the hell is wrong with me?'_ he asked himself, but his embarrassed and floaty heart soon dropped as he recalled the rest of the dream. He felt his heart ache at the image of Ivan being tased and anger that the teen had died. _'I'm only pissed because he was a friend. That's all, not like I love him or whatever,'_ Alfred thought confidently, though his aching heart wanted to disagree.

"Fuck. Fuck… fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Alfred slammed a fist into his bedding, then grabbed his second pillow and put it over his face.

_'Just go to sleep. Just go the fuck to sleep!'_

The blonde had had enough of his wild mind and just wanted to ignore and forget—ignore his erection and forget his dream.

When a decent hour of morning arrived Alfred woke up to something touching his leg. He moaned in pain and tried to pull it away, but stopped and sighed in relief as what was touching him started to rub soothing circles around the edge of his wound.

"It looks like you'll need an X-Ray," came a tired voice, and Alfred instantly opened his eyes as he knew who it was.

"Mom?"

Alfred moved to sit up and put on his glasses, and sure enough his mother was awake and sitting on his bed in her scrubs. She sighed at hearing Alfred speak, then looked up to him with a tired look on her face.

"What were you thinkin' Alfred? Fighting a gang with one of your own, which is news to me," she said as she looked at her beat up son.

Alfred didn't know what to say, but his mother seemed to just resign herself to the fact that her son was thug. She knew she couldn't blame it all on him, something had to have happened to make him join, something that she could have done if she had only been around more.

"It's alright, never mind, just… As much as I don't like this, I know it's out of my hands, but…I hope that you and your brother will grow out of it."

Alfred didn't say anything and his mother gently moved his leg to get up from the bed. She stood in the middle of his room looking more ragged than she had when he first woke up, her blonde hair in a bun that was falling apart, Winnie the Pooh scrubs a wrinkled mess, and dark circles under her eyes. She rubbed a hand over her face and Alfred just found the whole situation odd. His mother hadn't been in his room in years it seemed, and it was even odder to hear her talk this much to him after coming home from work.

"Well, I've got an appointment for your leg set up in an hour. I'll help you get dressed," she said as she turned back to Alfred.

The blonde just stared at his mother confused, surprised, and a little happy. He had honestly expected nothing but fury from her, but he guessed Matthew might have had something to do with her calm demeanor.

"Okay."

* * *

***SO Chapters 1-3 have been edited! My lovely friend (Tangerine Forget-Me-Not) has once again saved yall, and myself, the embarrassment of reading obvious spelling errors and grammar errors. I was kinda okay with the errors at first since I'm not taking this story seriously, it's just for shits and giggles, but after seeing the horrors riddled throughout the fic...yeah... Anywho, thanks for reading! Reviews welcomed!***

 


	6. Blood Street 6

**Blood Street 6**

 

"Well, Alfred, looks like you'll be out of commission for a week," the doctor said as he looked at Alfred's X-Rays, then turned to his mother. "Sorry Lily, but he's going to need help getting around too."

Alfred stared at the doctor in shock while his mother just sighed for the tenth time.

"It's alright George, I could use a vacation anyways," she said with a tired smile on her face.

"So, is it broken?" Alfred asked as he eyed his doctor.

The man shook his head and pointed to the dark areas on Alfred's X-Rays.

"You have deep tissue damage. It's not too severe, but you will need painkillers and rest for it heal. You need to be off the leg as much as possible, and since it's a Thursday, you'll get a nice long weekend from school."

Alfred groaned at hearing the news and inwardly cursed Ivan, and vowed to break his hand off.

"Alright, well, I'll just stop off at my wing to get this scheduled in," Lily said as she helped Alfred off the examination table.

"Okay, I'll see you in a week, Ms. Jones," George said with a smile on his face.

"You too, Mr. Williams," Lily replied, and Alfred just narrowed his eyes at the two as he was put back into the wheelchair he was carted in on.

As he left the room he kept his eyes on his mother to see her look a little less tired. He looked a little farther back, and out the corner of his eye, he saw his doctor watching her go. Alfred let out a snort as he turned back around, then dug into his red basketball shorts for his phone. He started to text his twin while his mother got his medical excuse papers.

'I'll be stuck in bed for a week dude! Braginsky's fuckin' ass gave me deep tissue damage!'

Alfred only waited seconds before his brother replied.

'You make it sound like he gave you an STD.'

Alfred cracked up at this, and his mother looked briefly at him to see what was so funny, before looking back up to wheel him out of the office. They went through the halls to get to the sky bridge so they could cross over to Lily's side of the hospital.

'Well Ivan _is_ an STD,' he replied, then added, 'Anyway it sucks, but whatever. Mom's actually gonna take off for it.'

'Wow, that's very… Motherly of her.'

'Right! N guess wat! I think she's got a crush on our doctor n I think he likes her too. Ya know Dr. Williams that guy with brown hair n blue eyes.'

'Holy shit, do you think they… ya know…'

'Ew! Mattie I don't wanna think about that!'

Matthew laughed as he saw his brother's reply, then sent one of his own as the school bell rung for his next class. He bid his brother goodbye while assuring him he'd tell the rest of their gang the news, then rushed out of his classroom to get to his new one.

As he passed through the halls he spotted Eliza, Arthur, and Francis talking together. He called out to them, but he guessed his voice was drowned out by the other students since none of them looked his way. He let out a huff as he quickened his pace to get to them before they could leave, and put a hand on Francis' shoulder as he finally got to them.

"Oh, Matthew! When did you get there?" Francis asked as he noticed the hand and turned to the teen.

"Just now, but I came over because Al texted me," Matthew announced as he took his hand off of Francis.

"Really? I thought he was in jail," Arthur said as he looked at Matthew.

"No, surprisingly, he got out—and it was holding, not actually jail," Matthew informed then went on to say, "But you won't believe how he got out of holding!"

"What, he used a spoon to dig his way out?" Eliza joked.

"Non, he flirted his way out," Francis said as he made a kissy face toward Arthur.

Matthew cracked a smile, but shook his head.

"Braginsky got him out."

The three around Matthew stared at him in shock.

"No bloody way. Ivan rather see Alfred eat his shit before doing that."

"Really! It's true! Ivan got him out just by _telling_ the cops to let him out, and it's also Braginsky's fault that Al's not here," Matthew added in. "Ivan fucked up his leg. He didn't break it, but as Alfred put it: 'Braginsky's fuckin' ass gave me deep tissue damage'," Mathew quoted as he showed the text to his friends.

"He makes it sound like an STD," Francis commented.

"I told him that too," Matthew mentioned then took his phone back. "He's not gonna be in school for a week because of it though."

"A week? And it's not broken?" Arthur asked a little loudly from surprise.

"Yeah, h—"

Matthew was curtailed by the sound of the warning bell coming through the PA system.

"Crap, see you guys later. Oh, and if you see Kiku and the others before me tell them about Alfred," Matthew said as he already started to walk away from the group.

Eliza, Francis, and Arthur gave them his word as he started to rush off, and as Matthew did so Ivan walked right past him, though he didn't know it. The Russian himself was running late for his class since he'd been occupied with thoughts of a certain blonde. He was moving calmly through the chaotic halls as other teens dashed to their classes and out of his way. He was nearly to his classroom door when he caught wind of a conversation holding a certain name. He froze mid-step and didn't even bother to hide the fact that he was listening in on the two girls talking at their lockers.

"Yeah, I just heard it when I passed by his brother."

"Ivan really messed him up for him to be out for a week. I hope it is just his leg, Alfred's one of the few good looking guys here."

"I know right, if his face got any of that damage…"

The girls shuddered in distaste at the images they were coming up with, and Ivan just stood in silence. When the final bell rang, the girls' conversation was effectively ended while Ivan still stood in the hall.

_'Alfred will be gone for a week…because of me?'_

A part of Ivan felt pleased with this news, but another part felt guilty—very guilty. He tried to decipher why that was, but he was interrupted by a hand on his arm and a pair of green eyes looking at him.

"Toris?"

"You okay, Ivan? I came to get you for class, but if you don't want to—"

"Nyet, I'm fine. I'm going, I just got…sidetracked," Ivan said with an eerie smile coming to his face.

Toris gave a small nod and took his hand away as Ivan walked to their classroom. Their teacher said nothing as he walked in with Toris at his heels. The two sat in their usual seats in the back of the classroom, and while Toris began to take notes, Ivan began to think.

_'I hurt Alfred more than I thought I did…or maybe it was the cops that made it worse?'_

_'Either way,_ you _still hurt him.'_

Ivan tensed at this foreign thought, then inwardly jumped as a paper was set on his desk. He looked ahead to see the kid in front of him flinching from his eye contact and turning back around quickly. He furrowed his brow as he looked from them to the paper in front of him, and decided to ignore it when he realized it was just a geometry color by number worksheet. He had more important things to focus on during his class time.

For instance, why he still felt guilty for hurting Alfred so badly. It made no sense, since he'd hurt Alfred on almost a daily basis—physically, emotionally, mentally—and Alfred did the same thing to him, dishing it right back.

_'So why is this different?'_

Ivan let out a soft sigh as he tried to think of an answer. He picked up his pencil and started to solve the problems on his worksheet to help order his thoughts. He started thinking about the night before; the dream was nothing more than an impression of something he didn't want to believe. He recalled how he protected Alfred from being tased and then got him out of holding, which was even odder than the dream. He had no idea why he felt…off? wrong? about leaving Alfred in the cell that night. Then this morning he had felt worried when he saw Alfred's seat empty. Alfred honestly did have a perfect attendance, he didn't miss school no matter how beat up he was. So it was genuinely surprising to see the blonde's seat empty in first period.

When he had gotten home after being arrested he hadn't been able to get the incident out of his head. Everything about the fight made his heart race, especially when he recalled Alfred's "Are you hard?" question, which he still didn't know the answer to. He had planned on sleeping it all off and waking up without any recollection of the previous night, and it worked for a time, until Natalia asked him how the fight went when he got up for school. He knew he was going to have a long day, and now with persistent object of his thoughts absent, he knew it was going to be a _very_ long day.

By lunch time, Ivan was ready to just skip the rest of the day. Everywhere he went all he heard about was how Alfred was absent because of him and how they got arrested. He could feel the glares at his back from students that would never have the balls to face him directly. Though Alfred's gang did glare at him directly when he came across them in the halls or class, especially now at lunch. The Heroes' table may be far from his, but he could feel the hatred coming off of them in waves.

_'Maybe I should skip…'_

As he played around with this idea, thinking of his remaining classes and what he might expect for homework, Katyusha sat down in front of him. Usually Natalia was directly in front of him, but Katyusha decided to switch places, which was not good for Ivan. He made the mistake of looking up at his sister as she sat down, and knew right then he was in trouble.

"You got arrested?" Katyusha asked, though it was more of a statement.

Ivan stared at her blankly, unsure of what to say, but Katyusha didn't need his words.

"I can't believe this. How are you even alive right now? Father is going to kill you," she said as she looked at her beat up brother.

She had spent an hour scolding him about his fighting as she cleaned him up the night before. Disinfecting Alfred's bite mark on her brother's hand and covering it up with bandages. Cleaning cuts and scrapes, and giving him pain medication. She had had no idea that he gotten arrested, until she got word of it from a friend of hers who had overheard it. When she processed that information she knew it was real. She had seen two holes in her brother's chest and dark rings around his wrist, and now it made sense on how they came to be.

"Katyusha, Father doesn't know. The idiots who took me were smart enough not to call him," he said flatly.

"I don't care, Ivan you—You… Chert voz'mi Vanya! Yesli by ne bylo—" Katyusha stopped herself as she realized what she was about to say.

She took a moment to calm down and was aided by Natalia, who placed a hand on her arm. Ivan just sat in front of her like a son getting yelled at by his mother, silent and eyes burning holes into his lunch tray. Katyusha let out a deep breath then moved to hold Natalia's hand reassuringly.

"We will talk about this later," she said calmly, and dropped the subject.

Ivan didn't say anything back and looked up to see his sister eating her food as calmly as ever. He then looked around his table to see everyone oblivious to him. He found himself wishing that Alfred was in school now more than ever, at least if he was there he'd have someone to fight his frustrations out with. If he was there, Ivan wouldn't be suffering as much as he was.

** :/:/:/:/: **

At 4:30pm Ivan was escorted into his house by Katyusha, who had driven him home, along with Natalia. The whole drive from school had been silent as a graveyard, and it was only a matter of time before Katyusha would unleash her mother-like wrath.

"Ivan."

It appeared that that time was now. Ivan groaned internally and turned away from the stairs that he had only put one foot on. Katyusha looked at him sternly, though no anger showed in her face.

"I—I don't want you to throw away your future, okay? I worry for you and Natalia. I know you took over for our sake, but Vanya, please don't do anything reckless like that again. I can't always be the big sister that can do everything, da?" she said softly, her voice wavering a little.

Ivan bit the inside of his cheek as he heard this, and nodded his head before turning around. He put a foot on the stairs then paused, as if wanting to say something, but then sighed and headed up the staircase. He didn't know what to say to his sister when she got emotional, but he knew she had her reasons.

He had taken the General Winter Gang from a junior named Vlad when he got into high school. He had ended his friendship with Alfred officially in the last year of middle school and caught Vlad's eye… Well, more like his _sister_ caught his eye. The older teen had selected Ivan as his replacement when the time came, but he had only said that to get close to Katyusha. Ivan didn't notice this, however, until he found the boy pinning his sister to her bed. Vlad had told Ivan he was coming over to talk about the gang, like usual, but during all that time, during all those visits, it was only to peek at Katyusha.

Though on that day his spying took another level and Ivan didn't stand for it. It was the first time he'd ever beat someone into unconsciousness, and as a result of it he felt powerful, he felt _good_. That's when he decided to take over sooner than planned. He didn't want either one of his sisters to be targeted and the gang would help him do that. It felt like a match made in heaven when he announced his takeover and he easily shut up those who disagreed. Vlad ended up dropping out of school once Ivan's father got ahold of him. Their father had caught sight of the end of Ivan's beating and once Katyusha explained what had happened, that was also the first time their father genuinely praised Ivan.

Of course, once it became known that he was the leader of such a heartless gang, which he made even more heartless, Alfred became his enemy. The blonde had been in his life since he moved to the city at the beginning of middle school from another state. He always had trouble making friends in school, but Alfred was the first true friend he ever had. It was because of Alfred that he got Toris as a friend later on in life. They had been inseparable back then, but after a stupid fight—which neither one could recalled what it was about—they started to fall apart. That had started in the middle of 7th grade, and they tried to still act as friends, but by 8th grade, they couldn't stand each other.

Now Alfred was Ivan's enemy, and he was content to leave it that way… or so he thought. As he sat in his room staring out his window from his bed, he felt a bit lost. Alfred had always been a constant in his life since he moved to the city, but after today he felt off balance. He had made it through a whole day of school without saying one insult or glaring, or anything. He still felt bad for hurting Alfred, even if he tried to put some of the blame on the cops, it didn't help much. He had honestly missed that pretty face that he loved to make scrunched up with anger.

The teen put a hand on his face then ran it through his hair as he admitted this to himself. His mind relenting to the truth of the statement, then focusing on the word he used a thousand times to describe Alfred.

_'Pretty.'_

"What is wrong with me?" he muttered to himself.

As Ivan brought his hand through his hair then let it fall to his lap, he played around with ideas and logical reasoning. He did this to a point where he came up with something so outlandish he made himself laugh, but as his laughter died down the possibility of such a ridiculous idea felt _pretty_ solid. Even though he wanted to just bury that idea, that _feeling_ , and never think of it again, he knew he wouldn't be able to as long as there was an Alfred Jones.

"Pretty…"

 

* * *

**Translations:**

Nyet/Da - No/Yes

Chert voz'mi Vanya! Yesli by ne bylo — Damn it Vanya! If it wasn't for

***Thank you all for the reviews so far and sticking with me! It really means a lot!***


	7. Blood Street 7.1

  **Blood Street** **7.1**

"How is it feeling?" Lily asked as she touched her son's leg tenderly.

Alfred winced slightly at the touch but gave his okay.

"It's better than it was."

Lily nodded her head as she stopped pressing on the leg and held out her hand to get Alfred to his feet. He was pulled up easily and once he stood he winced a little again, but he felt fine. Instead of feeling like a car ran over his leg it felt more like he got pricked with a needle. He had spent his week off from school doing almost nothing except getting up to use the bathroom. His leg looked almost normal, the bruising was a faint green and blue instead of a massive dark purple splotch.

"It's good," he said as he bent his knees then popped back up.

Lily smiled softly at seeing the fluid motion then let Alfred sit back down. She had spent her week off caring for Alfred in every possible way, but she never did address his gang after the first time. Alfred had honestly thought she had forgotten about it, but he was proven wrong when she said his name thoughtfully.

"Alfred… why are you—and your brother—in a gang?"

Alfred glanced at his mother before focusing his eyes on his leg.

"It's just part of the school experience, ya know? It was passed on to me and I had Mattie back me up. It's just for fun," he assured, then added, "We're not doing anything super illegal."

"No drugs?"

"No drugs. I made it a rule that we don't deal."

Lily stared at her son, completely at a loss for words. Ever since Alfred was born he always had a troublesome streak that she'd thought he would grow out of like Matthew had. She had done everything she could to handle Alfred, and she thought she had succeeded after sending him to Canada with her mother to get him whipped into shape. She had even let Matthew go along to prevent him from acting up at in the future, but apparently her efforts didn't last long. She honestly didn't know what to do with Alfred anymore, especially after getting the call from the police. She had been so livid at the time she almost took Matthew down to the police station and gave him up to the cops to spend the night there as well. And yet, she hadn't. Her anger had simmered down once she made Matthew explain and all she felt was annoyance and disappointment in herself and Alfred, but mostly herself.

Lily let out a weary sigh as she rested her chin in her hand.

"Ya know... I honestly don't know what to do with you, or your brother…" she admitted. "All I ask—all I ask is that you two never get arrested again. Never deal drugs, and never do anything reckless. I know I haven't been the best mom, but I'm trying Alfred, I am… God… Just gotta hope you grow out of it," she murmured as she slowly rose to leave Alfred's bedroom. "I'll take you to school tomorrow on the way to work," she added before disappearing through the doorway.

Alfred just stared at where she had been standing then flopped back on the bed.

' _We'll pass it down when the time comes,'_ he assured himself mentally.

He loved being a gang leader, but he knew that he'd had to give it up eventually. He only wanted to do it for fun and for the thrill of acting as a hero when the time called for it. Sure, he also took the position because he didn't want to risk getting on anyone's bad side. Protection in numbers and all that—though he still liked to take action solo.

' _Wonder if Ivan will give up his…'_

This stray thought caught Alfred's attention instantly. He had made a point to block out everything Ivan related during his week of recovery, especially after his dream. He hadn't been able to really scrub his mind clear of that dream since it happened, or the fact that he had gotten hard during their fight. Alfred had toyed around with idea of liking Ivan, but the more he thought about it, the less amusing it was.

In short, he was in trouble. He knew he was and he had tried his damndest to block everything out during his week off, but as of now, he was failing at it.

' _Stop thinking about it!'_ he thought determinedly as he felt his stomach flutter. _'I can't like him! I would be in hell if I did! My own personal hell!'_

"Fuck, I'm gonna punch him in the face once I get back," Alfred growled out as he sat up in bed.

He felt incapable of laying down any longer and moved to get to the floor of his room. He leaned forward to turn on his TV and game system and settled back against his bed.

"Kill things and forget Ivan. Better yet, kill things while picturing Ivan," Alfred corrected as a grin came to his face. "Not gonna ruin my last day of freedom because of him," he said, then pressed the start button on his controller.

**:/:/:/:/:**

At 8:15am Alfred and Matthew were dropped out in front of their school, their gang already on the stairs waiting for them. Their mother didn't say a word as she dropped off her boys, only casting a glance at the teens waiting for them before driving off.

"Welcome back, Al," Kyle said happily, and was the first to hug the blonde.

"Yeah, it's good to be back, surprisingly," Alfred said with a chuckle as he returned the hug before pulling away.

"The whole school's been talking about how Ivan messed up your leg," Eliza said as Alfred started to lead them up the stairs.

"Yeah, I know, Mattie told me," Alfred said, and started to say something else but was interrupted by Francis.

"Would you like me to do some digging, Alfred?" he asked. "I know me and mon amour can find something on Ivan or any of his thugs," Francis said as he wrapped an arm around Arthur, who quickly shoved him off.

"Don't make me bite that hand, Francis!" the Brit hissed.

Alfred chuckled as he remembered how much he had missed his friends' antics. They hadn't visited him at all during his recovery week since neither he nor Matthew knew what their mother would do if she saw them.

"You guys," he started as he turned around to look back at his gang, "I don't care what happened. Braginsky's gonna get his just desserts soon enough," Alfred said with a smirk then turned back around as his gang agreed with him.

They headed into the building and Alfred caught the other teens' attention instantly as he walked through the halls. A few of them even congratulated on him getting better, to which he only replied with a smile and kept on. The Heroes eventually disbanded to get to their lockers, and as Alfred and Matthew shut their own, the warning bell sounded. At that moment Alfred remembered just what his first period class was.

"You gonna to be okay, Al?" Matthew asked as he noticed his brother staring blankly at his closed locker.

"Huh?" Alfred blinked, then shook his head. "O-Oh, uh, yeah, I'll be fine… See ya around," he added, give a quick smile before heading to his class.

He didn't bother to look back at his twin as he left—he was only focused on getting to class and getting through it. He went into his classroom to find it already full except for his seat. The other students eyed him, though they tried to be subtle—but Ivan didn't care about subtlety. The Russian almost seemed to brighten up at the sight of Alfred, but the blonde didn't care much because his eyes were instantly on the ground. He felt like his face was fire once he caught sight of Ivan, and hurried to his desk without looking at him. He knew why he felt like this, and he prayed to whatever heavenly force there was that Ivan would never figure it out.

Speaking of Ivan, the Russian found Alfred's diverted gaze to be of great interest. He had been quite bored without Alfred around, and after his unadmitted realization he had made a point to keep it that way. All he focused on was school and counting the days down to when he could tease Alfred again. He had messed with other kids, but none of them acted like Alfred. They didn't get his blood boiling, or give him the urge to break them in half where they stood.

"Good morning, dorogoy," Ivan cooed as Alfred sat down.

The blonde didn't acknowledge him in the slightest and hurriedly removed his textbook, notebook, and folder from his backpack. Ivan watched him curiously as he set himself up for class, and smiled at how tense Alfred was.

' _Get it together!'_ Alfred shouted internally as he gripped his pencil tightly. _'Don't look at him, don't listen to him. He is dead to me, always has been, but this time he really is!'_

Alfred was trying his hardest to remain his normal self, but he couldn't relax. He hadn't thought that seeing Ivan the moment he walked into class would bother him so much. The instant their eyes had met, all he could see was Dream Ivan and the Ivan that had protected him. It was embarrassing to the point where he couldn't bring himself to look at the teen. He knew Ivan would find his suffering hilarious, and he just wished he could deck him in the face before anything horrible happened.

Alas, that wasn't going to happen any time soon, and Ivan wasn't going to let him get away—Alfred could feel his eyes on his back as well as small objects hitting his side and head. One of them bounced off his shoulder to his desk and he realized Ivan was throwing paper balls at him the size of bb pellets.

' _Kill me.'_

Throughout history class Ivan pestered Alfred to get him to look at him, throwing paper balls, calling out to him, and even throwing a pencil to get his attention, but Alfred wouldn't budge. By the time class ended, Ivan had barely enough time to blink before Alfred was out of the room.

' _Is he giving me the silent treatment for hurting his leg?'_ Ivan asked himself as he looked at the empty desk.

He furrowed his brow at the thought, feeling guilty all over again, but then stopped himself.

' _I shouldn't care, silent or not, this just gives me more openings to annoy him. He's done it plenty of times with me, and by the end of the day he'll be threatening me as always.'_

This put a smile on Ivan's face, one that easily creeped out the remaining students in the classroom into leaving faster. Ivan himself gathered his things with a new purpose and couldn't wait for his later classes.

Throughout the day Ivan took any chance he could to pester Alfred; in the hallways, at his locker, at lunch, on his way to class. Ivan honestly felt like it was heaven with a slight touch of hell since Alfred still didn't react to him. The only thing the blonde did so far was whip around to glare at him and look as if he was about to cuss him out, but then he'd turn red in the face and turn back around, ignoring Ivan. The Russian was starting to lose his patience honestly with Alfred's silent treatment, but little did he know Alfred was at the end of his rope as well.

The blonde just couldn't think of a damn thing to say back. Ivan would tease him for missing school, all he could do was ignore him. Ivan would suggest inappropriate reasons for why he couldn't say anything back, all he could do was fight off the embarrassment of his inappropriate dream. Ivan would poke him or get extremely close to him, all he could do was try his best to move around the teen. He really wanted to deck Ivan in the face and break his hand, but every time he tried he failed. All he could see was Dream Ivan, as much as the rest of his dream felt like a blurry haze of pleasure, embarrassment, and fear, the only thing that was so painfully clear was Ivan above him. It made his gut churn in a way that was unpleasant, pleasurable, and overall strange. He was also still trying to piece together the logic behind Ivan defending him and getting him out of jail. It was hell, and as Ivan assaulted him with teasing words and his need to block Alfred's way after leaving 5th period, well… Alfred lost it.

"You know you can't stay silent forever Alfred. I know you. Restraining yourself like this is going to kill you before I do," Ivan stated as he stood firmly between Alfred and his classroom down the hall. "Besides, you haven't thanked me for getting you out of holding."

Alfred felt something in him break and for the first time that day he met Ivan's eyes dead on. The Russian almost flinched at the sight, and went to say something about it, but Alfred cut him off by grabbing his arm. The blonde didn't say anything, and yanked the older teen over to a supply room that happened to be open. Alfred practically threw Ivan into the room, his body slamming into the wall of stacked textbooks, and before he could react Alfred was in the small space with him, the door slamming shut. No one in the hallway bothered to do anything about it. The teacher that had even had the supply room open simply turned his back to it and carted the textbooks he had back to his classroom.

Inside Alfred was glaring daggers at Ivan who was firmly pressed against the books. The room was extremely small, barely able to fit the both of them with all the books taking up the space. Ivan looked back at Alfred slightly surprised, though internally he was very surprised. He watched Alfred carefully as he raised his hand up then jabbed a finger into his chest.

"I am sick of your shit Ivan!" Alfred started, his voice loud yet steady. "All day you have been on my fuckin' case since I got back and I'm sick of it! I didn't fuckin' talk to you because I can't look you in the fucking eyes!" Alfred admitted, then took his hand back to run it through his hair. "I mean, the whole fuckin' time I was at home all I could think about was you! Of all FUCKIN' people, _YOU_! I just kept asking myself: 'Why did he defend me? Why did he get me from holding? Why the fuck did he do that? Why the fuck is he in my dreams?' Just, _what the fuck!?_ "

Alfred took a breath for only a second after saying all this before going off even more. Ivan just stood before him listening to every word completely caught off guard by what he had unleashed upon himself. But as Alfred continued and more details spilled from his pink lips, Ivan found himself drowning in what Alfred described as his wet dream. The Russian was completely enraptured by the details Alfred gave him and all he could think about was his own dream.

' _Alfred had one of me…'_

Ivan found himself focusing on Alfred's lips after getting a light punch to the chest. He had intended to look at Alfred's enraged and confused eyes, but ended up going lower. Ivan felt his mind working a thousand miles a second as he stared at Alfred's constantly moving lips—the words of hate and confusion and agony falling on deaf ears. Ivan was stuck in the thoughts he had earlier of Alfred—his ideal, friendship, etc.—, then his dream crashed in, followed by Alfred's beauty joining the pile up, and finally the _ridiculous_ idea of "love" appeared like a freight train derailing into a crowded intersection. For the first in Ivan's life… he had no idea what to truly think. He was at a loss, all he could focus on was Alfred's lips. The scowl seemed almost permanent on Alfred's freckled face. His pink lips shined in the florescent light as they moved rapidly. He knew the words that were spewing from that perfect mouth sounded desperate and angry all at once. He briefly looked up at Alfred's eyes to see them tinged red, but he didn't care to think on it as he moved back Alfred's lips.

' _I bet he'd shut up if I kissed him.'_

This thought came a few seconds too late as Ivan's body had already been in motion. Alfred's pink lips instantly slowed down to a stutter, a stutter that Ivan was deaf to. Alfred felt his face burning up as he saw Ivan loom over him, his face getting dangerously close to his own. He tried to back up but one step backwards left him against the wall of textbooks. Now he was pinned as Ivan got closer. His blue eyes darted down to Ivan's lips as he noticed them leaned in more.

' _Oh God,'_ was all Alfred could think.

Alfred froze as he felt Ivan's nose bump into his, a small gap was between their lips, and at that moment Alfred did something unexpected. Alfred moved his head up ever so slightly—their upper lips barely for a second—Ivan took notice instantly. He blinked, seeming to realize just what he was doing, what he was going to do. He stared at Alfred, seeing the blonde have lidded eyes and a look of anticipation? on his face. Ivan didn't know what to do, or to say, but once Alfred realized the kiss wasn't happening, Ivan did something unexpected. He realized that his right hand was raised up as if to cradle Alfred's head, but instead he quickly balled it into a fist and landed a punch right beside Alfred's ear. Alfred jumped at the sudden punch, and as much as Ivan wanted to hiss from bashing his knuckles into a wall of textbooks he kept it inside. What finally came out of his mouth was:

"So that's why you've been silent, huh? I thought you were better than that Jones. Seems I made a mistake showing courtesy to an enemy. I can't believe you couldn't look at me over some gay dream," Ivan huffed, though inside he had no idea what he saying. "The next time I see your face, I'll break it. I'd do it now, but if I did I'd do more than break your nose," he growled, then pulled away from Alfred. He opened the door to the closet and slammed it shut behind him.

Ivan then stepped away from the door, but as he did so he felt his guilt growing with each step.

Alfred remained in the closet, unsure of what to do. He had honestly just poured out everything he had built up and the result was a death threat. For one moment he had thought Ivan was going to kiss him, he had sickeningly anticipated it, hoped for it, and now here he was, Ivan-less. He hadn't meant to say everything he had on his mind, but once he started he couldn't stop it.

"Fuck," Alfred said hoarsely, then started to panic as he realized what was happening, "No, no, no, don't you fuckin' cry. There is no, damn, r-reason…f-fuck."

Alfred tried to stop the tears, but they wouldn't agree with him, and spilled over. He finally gave in, sinking down to the floor.

"What is wrong with me?" he asked himself between gasps.

He felt like his heart had got curbed stomped. Like it had literally been gouged out of him by Ivan's pipe, then stomped into the curb by the teen and his whole gang.

"What the fuck?"

* * *

**Translations:**

dorogoy - darling

***So as you can tell this is part 1 of chap 7. I planned on posting part 2 today, but...that would shorten the time I have for writing chapters soooo... >J> by the way I'm "finalizing" the previous chapters so a few things have been switched around and added, but it wont affect the story so far by much. Also sry for updating late, I had to get a few things for my birthday coming before all the Memorial Day ppl took everything :T ANYWHO, Reviews Welcomed!***


	8. Blood Street 7.2

**Blood Street 7.2**

In light of what had a happened in the supply closet, Ivan decided to skip his remaining classes. Thus, he spent his time tucked away in the school library hoping for a break from his mind and people. However, as he sat at his favorite table overlooking the courtyard, there were two students who didn't seem to understand the concept of quite.

"Can you believe it?" came a surprised voice.

"I know, like…did that really happen?" replied an equally surprised voice.

Ivan glared at his book as the two kept talking then looked over his book to see a girl and a boy sitting a few tables away. He was tempted to just threaten them, and was about to do so until he heard the boy say:

"I know! I didn't even think Alfred could cry!"

The Russian furrowed his brow at hearing this, but then relaxed as he thought:

' _No, no, Alfred does not cry. Crying for laughter, yes, but an honest cry, impos—'_

"It's so weird. I thought he'd kill us when we found him in the room."

' _Still could be a differe—'_

"Yeah, the leader of the Heroes bawling in a closet…Do you think anyone will believe that?"

"Should have gotten a picture!" the girl whined.

"Hah! He would break your phone and then kill us," the other teen retorted.

Ivan sat at his table unsure of how to process this information. Never in his life had he seen Alfred cry. Even when they had been friends the blonde never shed a tear unless he was laughing too hard.

' _But they had found him in the supply room… Why would he—'_

"Yeah but if I did have a picture it'd be so cute," the girl cooed, breaking into Ivan's thoughts.

"I don't think snot, tears, and red eyes classifies for cute," the boy said as he let out a laugh.

The girl let out a huff and Ivan stood up from his table as he slammed his book down. The teens ahead of him turned to see what had caused the noise and instantly turned pale at the sight of Ivan. The Russian kept a blank face as he stared at them, then moved to leave the library. As he passed their table he paused for a moment and said:

"If you want to see how cute a crying and bloody face can be, then I suggest you keep talking da?"

Ivan didn't even wait for reply, knowing already that the teens were shaking their heads as he left. As he took to the hallways, he could feel his crushing guilt coming back. Ivan let out a sigh as he felt his heart become heavy and just wished he could rip it out.

' _Alfred's the enemy. I should not feel guilty for hurting him. I should not feel guilty for making him cry… Did I make him cry?'_ Ivan asked himself in thought, though he knew there was no room to question. Alfred had cried because of him, because of what he had said that he hadn't meant.

' _No, no, I meant every word. I can't love him, and he can't love me. Even if he had the same type of dream as me. It only happened because I defended him, because I was the last person he saw. He doesn't like me and it's going to stay that way. This is fucking ridiculous! Why should I feel guilty for shit that he caused? Why do I have to be—'_

"Oof!"

Ivan's mental rant was cut off as his body collided with another. He stumbled back slightly, recovering easily, then looked to see who had ran into him. He looked around himself to realize that there were more students out in the hall, finding that it was passing period, and before him was a very pissed of Carlos. The Cuban was almost as tall Ivan and chubby, and had a shorter temper than Ivan.

"Watch were you're fuckin' going, Braginsky!" he yelled as he glared at the Russian.

Ivan looked at Carlos coldly and realized two things: 1) he could avoid an easy fight with the drug dealer, or 2) he could go for the easy fight. At the moment, the second option sounded so much more stress-relieving than first.

"I believe it was you that was in my way, da? You take up so much space in the hall you should be more mindful of others."

"What the fuck you say to me?" Carlos growled.

The instant the words left his mouth the remaining students in the halls had circled around them, eager to watch the events unfold.

"You heard me," Ivan said smoothly, a dark edge took to his voice.

Carlos took a step closer to Ivan and Ivan didn't back away.

"I will wipe that smug look off with the fuckin floor," Carlos threatened as he glared at Ivan.

"Try it."

Once Ivan laid out his permission, Carlos took it. The 17 year old lunged at Ivan, going in to punch Ivan in the face, but Ivan dodged it. This only pissed off Carlos even more, and the teen did not hold back. He sent a barrage of kicks and punches towards Ivan and only managed to clip Ivan in the shoulder with his fist. That one hit was enough to let Ivan stop being defensive.

Ivan wasted no time in punching Carlos square in the stomach, which was easy since the Cuban had tired himself out from all his useless attacks. He grabbed Carlos by his Hawaiian shirt and decked him in the face, a smile plastered on his face as he blackened the teen's eye. Carlos howled in pain but grabbed onto Ivan's sides and pushed him forward, pushing him down to slam him into the floor.

The teens around gasped and watched in amazement, some started placing bets on the winner (mainly the dealers), and Ivan's own gang and some of Carlos' friends were egging them on. However as Ivan got a busted lip and Carlos broke his own finger from a misdirected punch, while they scrapped on the floor, the perfect and intolerable Indi appeared. The boy had noticed the crowd in the hallway and instantly went to correct the situation like the good principal's son he was.

"Stop! I will have you arrested!" he shouted, which didn't stop either boy from fighting.

Indi huffed and went into the fight circle to pry the two apart, but the moment he touched Carlos' shoulder he was punched in the face by said teen.

"Don't fuck with me!" Carlos shouted, not wanting to be interrupted.

Indi screeched in pain and could feel blood dripping from his nose. He felt tears pricking his eyes, but he wiped them away as he got to his feet and ran for the officers hiding out in the front office to avoid work. It didn't take him long to return with the cops and it was then that Ivan put an end to their fight. He punched Carols in head hard enough to make him disoriented and kicked him off of him. Once Carols was off the cops swooped in to grab at him and Ivan, but the Russian shook them off.

"Don't touch me, or I'll tell my father, Aleksis Braginsky."

The officers quickly backed off of Ivan at hearing the name, having known the horror stories of the famous lawyer many times over. They didn't know how he'd treat family matters, but if it was anything like how he treated criminals, well, they did not want to be on the end of that.

Ivan glared at anyone looking at him and move to touch his face. He could feel the bruise on his pale cheek knotting up, taste the blood on his busted lip, feel the ache in his back, and the anger from his fight still present. The fight had been disappointing. He knew it was going to be an easy fight, but he didn't feel as good as he usually did when he fought others. Fighting with Alfred was always the best, but when he fought Carlos it felt so dull and lacking and he hated it. And since he couldn't' get what he wanted from the fight his mind tended to wonder, which resulted in him getting beat up as he did.

"Yebat'," he hissed, then rolled his shoulder before turning from the scene.

He started to walk towards his locker, ready to get his backpack then skip out on the remaining school day. As he left, a familiar presence came to his side and he sighed as he finally glanced over to the brown haired teen.

"What is it Toris?"

The teen looked at Ivan curiously, unsure of what to make of his leader. He had heard about what happened with Alfred and had seen the fight.

"Is everything alright?" he finally asked.

"No, but it doesn't matter," Ivan snapped, not wanting to be bothered.

"You know you broke the rule, right?" Toris inquired after a moment of silence.

Ivan paused for moment as he processed this, but then gave a shrug. He could care less about the no fighting rule at the moment.

"Da," Ivan said as he stopped in front of his locker and started to open it.

"Was it…Was it because of Alfred?" Toris asked cautiously.

Ivan froze as he finally popped open his locker. Toris noticed his bloody knuckles turning white from gripping the locker door tightly.

"I don't know," was all Ivan had to say.

Toris just nodded his head and watched his leader grab his backpack then close the door.

"You're leaving for the rest of the day?"

"Da, make up something for me," Ivan instructed, "I missed everything after 5th period."

Toris gave a nod to this and watched Ivan turn on his heel to leave out one of the side exits in the school.

With Ivan gone for the day, it only lessened the worry of getting caught talking about the fight. Carlos was unconscious in the nurse's office, so everyone who had witnessed the fight had to spread the word. Of course Alfred had gotten word of it, Francis and Arthur having told him after witnessing the fight themselves. The two didn't clarify why they weren't in class and were hiding out in a closet during that time, but it didn't matter, all that did matter was that Ivan got his ass beat, but he nearly killed Carlos.

"Oh mon ami, it seems that your… episode in the supply room hasn't died down yet. Even with this fight, many are saying the two incidents are connected," Francis said as he looked at Alfred.

Alfred just sighed deeply and buried his face in his hands as he sat together with Francis and Arthur. They were in 7th period together, though Francis had snuck out of his music history class to sneak into Alfred and Arthur's. Their teacher didn't care, having given up on trying to keep Francis out long ago.

"I don't care. I just don't. I—I just want to forget it okay. I said a bunch of shit I shouldn't have and I bet he was laughing it up until he got into that fight."

"It can't be that bad, I know you haven't told us what you've said, but it ca—"

"It was," Alfred curtailed. "It was horrifying, embarrassing, and stupid, and I want to kill him and myself."

"Don't say that mon cher," Francis cooed and leaned in to wrap Alfred up in a hug. "Ivan will get his—well he already kind of has, but he will get worse next time!"

"Right, now cheer up," Arthur chimed in, patting Alfred on the back. "We can go tag his hangout tonight if you'd like."

Alfred shrugged out of Francis's hug with a sigh and slouched over the rubber lab table.

"I don't want to go anywhere near him. I just want to get this day over with and pray he dies in a ditch or something," Alfred said, though secretly he really didn't mean it.

' _God, I used to look forward to his death and now…fuck me,'_ he whined mentally, though the whine itself was audible and received him another pat on the back from Arthur.

' _Today is going to be a long day.'_

* * *

**Translations:**

Yebat' – Fuck

***So, I've decided that the next update, Chp 8, will be on Wed. By then I should have both parts of chp 9 finished, thus getting me back on track with the story. Thanks a million for all the reviews!***


	9. Blood Street 8

**Blood Street 8**

Alfred stared at the ceiling of his room blankly—one hand was shoved under his Taz shirt and the other was pulling lightly on his hair in thought. All he could think about was Ivan's annoying ass and his own embarrassing episode in the supply closet.

Ever since he had gone back to school on Thursday, his life had turned into a living hell. Word of him crying the supply closet spread like wildfire, even though most people didn't believe it. Those that did believe kept talking about it constantly, and after Ivan fought Carlos it only got worse. Students all over the school were making assumptions that Ivan fought Carlos because he needed stress relief after making Alfred cry, or that Carlos had made Alfred cry and Ivan defended him, or it was all tied into one hellish love triangle. These were only a few of the many rumors sweeping across the school, and it killed Alfred.

By Monday it had even grown into this huge scandal of sorts after Jam, one of Carlos' friends, was seen tailing Eliza over the weekend. Jam was a laid back guy with dreads and had the best drugs any teenager could afford. He never did much of anything, but it was never a good sign when he actually started participating in something. To top it all off, Ivan didn't come to school for the entire week. Word about his absence was like igniting a flamethrower into an already burning forest. Never had Alfred's life felt so pathetic, so out of control, so _unfair_. He knew he still had a sliver of power—he had noticed that no one messed with him outright in those two days or the following week—but he still hurt.

He knew that all of this was partly his fault—but it was mostly Ivan's. If Ivan hadn't got him out of holding he wouldn't be in this mess. If Ivan hadn't annoyed him when he got back to school he wouldn't be in this mess. If he hadn't spilled his fucking guts in a closet then gotten rejected he wouldn't be. In. This. Fucking. Mess.

' _Ah, God, what the fuck am I thinking about?'_ Alfred asked himself in thought. _'Rejected!? Come on, it's not like I said 'I love you Ivan','_ he told himself confidently, though he paused for a moment unsure. He thought back to the incident and blushed as he remembered a phrase similar to I love you, but shoved it aside as he asserted his point once more. _'Yup, never said it and never will.'_ With that thought stuck firmly in his mind, he rolled over to face his bedroom window.

The sun was bright in the Sunday afternoon sky, but seeing it did not relax him in the slightest.

"Besides…he's the one that tried to kiss me… That's gross," Alfred muttered aloud as he clutched his pillow—his chest felt tight as he recalled the incident. "I almost got Ivan cooties," he mumbled as he buried his face in his pillow.

" _I can't believe you couldn't look at me over some gay dream."_

Alfred tightened his grip on the pillow as he heard Ivan's voice echoing in his head.

' _Stop it,' he thought annoyed with himself. 'I never liked him. The dream was a mistake. Ivan was mistake. A mistake to fuckin' nature. That piece of shit was just fucking with me… and I was too!'_

When Alfred thought this he felt a light bulb come on and he popped his head up from his pillow.

"I was fucking with him! I was, I never meant a damn thing, and, and— _Oooh_."

Alfred let out a laugh as another brilliant light bulb came on.

"I'm gonna fuck him up! I gotta see Basch. He's got the best tools for the job I'm about to pull off," Alfred said happily as he felt like his old self again with only a slight bit of unreasonable heartache.

He snatched his phone off his nightstand and quickly contacted the blonde junior he needed. Basch was a one of the students that didn't care for the gangs and stayed out of any and all conflicts, with the exception of selling "tools" to the highest bidder. Not only did it keep him out of everyone's way, as well as his sister, but it got him money on the side, which he loved.

It didn't take long for Alfred to get a reply text holding the time and location to place his order. Basch preferred to do business in person rather than text or call. When Alfred saw the location however, he almost laughed out loud—it was the park where he had fought and gotten arrested with Ivan. He eagerly confirmed the meet-up and threw on the first clean clothes he could find—black pants, a neon blue striped floral t-shirt, and grey converse. He decided to stick with glasses for the day then headed out of his room.

Once he hit the bottom of the stairs a voice called out to him.

"Where you going, Al?"

Alfred flinched slightly, then turned to the side to see his brother on the front room couch with his laptop. His twin wasn't even looking at him.

"How the hell do you do that?" Alfred asked as he looked to his brother.

"Twin connection," Matthew replied, still not looking at him.

"Huh. Well, I'm going out for a walk to find tools," Alfred said as he turned on his heel and grabbed the doorknob.

Matthew just let out a heavy sigh at hearing this and finally looked up at his brother. He had been expecting this moment ever since last Friday—the moment that Alfred would retaliate.

"Don't buy too much. We aren't made of money, you know."

"No promises," Alfred said with a smile then opened the front door, and as he stepped out Matthew called for him to back up. "What now?"

Matthew narrowed his eyes at Alfred and tilted his head slightly.

"You stole my favorite shirt."

Alfred looked down at himself, then looked back up and winked.

"Love you, bro!" he shouted before dashing out of the house.

The instant he had shut the door he had heard Matthew yell at him to not ruin it like he had with previously stolen clothes. Alfred just had a smile plastered across his face as he left the house, and looked back to see Matthew glaring at him through the picture window. Alfred just waved vigorously to his brother as he turned around and kept walking.

When he was no longer in sight of his house, he faced forward to walk leisurely to the park, which was only 13 minutes away. He passed by somewhat clean streets, cluttered and plain houses. The further he walked from his neighborhood, the heavier the graffiti became. He sighed happily as he looked at the tags, picking out his own amongst the other's permanently displayed on buildings, lampposts, benches, and sidewalks. His simple happiness turned into giddiness as he imagined the damage he'd be doing later on.

' _I'm gonna trash his whole place. Paint his rundown piece of shit hangout, smash windows, break in and trash the place from top to bottom—just fuck up the whole block!'_

Alfred laughed to himself as he crossed a street to head to the now visible park. He checked his watch to see that he still had a lot of time before his meet-up, so he decided to stroll through the park. At night it was hard to see how wrecked the park was, but in the daytime it was obvious. The park was well kept, in sense (the grass and greenery were taken care of), but the city could only withstand so much graffiti before finally giving up. The bathroom area, benches, lamppost, the pathways, the play set itself, all had been covered in a rainbow of spray paint designs. The river that split the park was murky but surprisingly had life. Alfred let out a content sigh as he saw a dog by the river, sniffing its way up to a family of ducks.

"Fuck, it's a good day," Alfred said happily, taking in account of the nice day and the how things were going to go his way from here on out. "Nothing can fuck this up," he said confidently.

But of course, by the power of karma, wishful thinking, and just plain fucked over luck, Alfred happened to find Ivan sitting on a bench staring at the river. The Russian looked ragged, tired, and lost in thought. He was staring blankly at the shimmering water as he found himself trying to keep his head in order. Ever since last Thursday, everything around him had gone to shit.

After he had left school early, he had spent the time picking fights with anyone who looked at him wrong. He had walked through hostile territories just to get a real fight, since the one with Carlos had been so unfulfilling. By the time he'd even bothered to go home it was nearing midnight, and what was waiting for him was exactly what he'd been expecting. His father, Aleksis Braginsky, sitting in the front room looking as cold as ever. The man had gotten word of the fight with Carlos and was informed of Ivan's punishment straight from the principal's mouth. Ivan had never gotten anything more than detection, but on that night he was slapped with a week-long suspension. Aleksis calmly informed Ivan of this punishment and then went on to give his son $50 for food and told him to get out of the house until his suspension was over.

" _No child of mine has the right to live under my roof when they lost the right to attend school_ ," his father had said, and Ivan had known better than to fight back.

Thus began Ivan's long week of wandering the streets, fighting, being both pissed and depressed at the same time, and sleeping at his hangout. All the while he had spent his time reflecting on his life choices, the fights, the gang, Alfred. No matter what, every thought came back that annoying freckled-faced boy. And that's what he was thinking about as he sat on the bench at the park where they had fought numerous times. He wanted to punch Alfred in the face, but also kiss him at the same time. This added internal conflict did not help Ivan's mood in the slightest bit.

He stared at the river, trying to work though the redundant conflict in his mind, but it wasn't working. He let out a sigh as he resigned himself to his fate, to be stuck pinning for Alfred and feeling like shit, and at that moment he heard footsteps coming towards him. He glanced out of the corner of his eye to see none other than Alfred Jones standing beside him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt a scowl form on his face. Alfred was the last person he wanted to deal with right now.

' _Maybe it's just your imagination,'_ he thought to himself.

"What the hell you doing here, Braginsky?"

' _Nope, he's real.'_

Ivan pinched the bridge of his nose then leaned back against the bench.

"Go away."

Alfred furrowed his brow as he watched Ivan avoid looking at him. He chose then to step closer to the bench, and that was when he noticed how tired and dirty Ivan really was—his clothes were not in the best shape, dark circles lined his tired violet eyes, a fading bruise was on his cheek, and his hair looked greasy. Alfred looked at him critically then glanced around the park before doing something he never thought he'd do: he sat down next to Ivan. Normally he would have just ignored Ivan, maybe insult him or flip him off, and move on, but this time…This time he couldn't. Something about the Russian wasn't right, and a part of him didn't want to leave him. He hadn't seen Ivan look so rough in years, and as much as he didn't want to acknowledge the nagging feeling in his heart, he finally caved and said:

"Are you okay?"

Ivan arched a brow at this question, but didn't respond. Alfred eyed him as he was ignored, but he went on to ask again.

"I know something's wrong Ivan. You usually keep to your territory on Sundays, so what gives?"

Ivan still remained silent and leaned his head back further to stare at the sky.

"If you were sitting here thinking you'd drown yourself in the river then—"

Ivan found himself laughing once Alfred said this. He hadn't meant to, but it bubbled out of him before he could stop it. Alfred smiled slightly at hearing the other laugh, but rolled his eyes and asked again.

"Tell me, you asshat. We used to tell each other everything so—"

"Stop."

Alfred froze at hearing the cold voice and saw Ivan looking annoyed. The calm mask he had when he was ignoring Alfred was gone, replaced only frown.

"Why… Why are you bothering me? After what I did—" Ivan cut himself off and just burned holes into the ground.

He didn't know what to say or do at the moment. He felt angry—but _why?_ He didn't know, and to make things better he felt his guilt starting to resurface. Alfred stared at him, surprised, but then looked away as he felt his heart starting to pick up its pace. He had tried to forget about the incident in the closet, but a part of him was happy that Ivan didn't. As stupid and embarrassing as it was, he was secretly, stupidly happy that Ivan still thought about it.

"You know why," Alfred said simply, leaving Ivan to interpret the answer for what it really was.

Ivan's heart skipped a beat as he heard this and Alfred instantly felt a fog of nervousness come over him. He was fine with leaving his explanation as it was, but as the awkward silence continued, he couldn't leave it be.

"I'm nosy," he finally said. "You know that. You're my worst enemy and ex-friend. So, ya know, keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Ivan felt the guilt and anger surrounding him fade a little at hearing this, realizing what Alfred was doing. A small smile came to his face and he shook his head as he let out a sigh. Alfred smiled a little and rubbed the back of his neck as he saw Ivan finally look at him. Alfred could tell that even though he tried to cover up his true thoughts Ivan still knew what he was really thinking. However, Ivan wasn't going to call him out on it.

"Fine," Ivan said as he took another deep breath and adjusted himself on the park bench. "I was kicked out of my house. My father found out about the fight and I got suspended apparently."

"So, this whole week you was just walking around?"

Ivan nodded and looked ahead to the river, watching it move gently through the park.

"Yeah, and it's all because of you," Ivan said simply.

There wasn't any malice in his voice—no teasing or anything like it; he sounded almost depressed, which made Alfred smile a little wider. Ivan knew Alfred would probably pick up on what he meant—Alfred wasn't as dense as everyone, including himself, claimed him to be.

Another layer of silence fell over them, but was less suffocating. Alfred eventually broke it by nudging Ivan with his shoulder and saying, "Hey, I get it. I had a shit week because of you, too."

Ivan looked at Alfred for a moment, taking in his body language—hunched shoulders, soft smile, feet kicking at the grass. It was also then that he realized what Alfred was wearing, how the blonde really looked. As much as he had loathed Alfred—even more so now than ever for so many reasons—he couldn't help but stare at him.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Ivan snapped out of his trance and rolled his eyes.

"If I wanted a picture of you I'd take a picture of a toilet," Ivan retorted.

Alfred stared at Ivan in shock at hearing this, but then broke out into raucous laughter. Ivan found himself smiling as the other laughed.

"Oh fuck," Alfred said as he started to calm down. "I hate you," he said between giggles as he finally caught his breath and wiped away a tear.

"I hate you too," Ivan said as his smile got a little wider.

Alfred let out a giggle before finally calming down. He had honestly missed being insulted by Ivan; no one had the ability to make him happy and laugh, and get mad at the same time like Ivan did.

"Ya know, we should go on a date," Alfred stated without thinking of his choice of words. Ivan tensed at hearing it, but before he could say anything Alfred went on to say, "I never did get to break your fingers. Plus, I need to repay you for fucking up my leg."

Ivan felt himself relax significantly, and nodded in agreement.

"We'll need to choose a new spot though. I'd rather not be arrested again," he pointed out.

Alfred gave a hum as he nodded his head to this.

"How about your turf this time?" Alfred suggested.

"Sure."

At that moment Alfred's phone started to go off, and as he pulled it out of his pocket he remembered why he had come to park in the first place.

"Oh shit! I forgot," Alfred said, jumping up from the bench. "I gotta go. Smell ya later Braginsky!"

Ivan didn't dignify Alfred's farewell with a response, but instead opted to watch him leave in silence. As he watched him go he felt oddly relieved but also a little let down—why, he couldn't say. He didn't really want to think about it. Alfred felt the same sense of relief, but it was encompassed by a nervous rush of happiness and other strange floaty feelings. He couldn't help the smile that seemed to spread across his face and remain there, plastered to it, as he ran off to meet Basch.

' _Maybe I won't trash his place too much after all.'_

* * *

***So, Chp. 9.1 will be up on Saturday! Again I shall be splitting the post dates for the 2 parter chapter to get more time in J I'm still working on 10 cuz its mmmmmm! So yeah ;3 Thank you for the reviews so far and hope you continue stick with me!***


	10. Blood Street 9.1

**Blood Street 9.1**

Monday morning, 12:00 AM, Ivan opened the front door of his home. He stepped in cautiously and closed the door behind him, then headed for the stairs, but he froze when a light suddenly flicked on.

"Welcome back," came an annoyed voice that could only belong to Marie, Ivan's mother.

He turned around slowly to see his mother standing beside an arm chair that his father sat in. Both of them held looks of disappointment as Ivan stood before them, and he found himself feeling nervous in their presence for the first time in a long time.

"Do you know how embarrassing and _aggravating_ it was to get through this week?" Aleksis asked coldly.

"Do you know how annoying you can be when you act out like a child?" Marie added.

Ivan stood silently, just taking in the look of his parents not arguing with each other for once. His mother looked like she had just gotten home from her other man's home, and his father looked like he just came from work, but both looked ready to throttle Ivan.

"Ivan, you are my son—my only son. You know full well how much I have tolerated you, but you are skating on thin ice," Marie said as she pointed a finger at Ivan.

"Thin ice is an understatement, dear," said Aleksis. "In my mind he has nothing to stand on other than my very life. You threaten my life's work, my status, all for a petty fight." He glared at his son, his gaze so cold Ivan could feel cold creeping under his skin. "Do you know how bad it makes me look when others find out about your behavior?"

Ivan still said nothing and his mother smacked her lips in annoyance at his silence. She walked up to him and looked straight into his face.

"Stop acting like a child and grow up, you disappointment," she said in a harsh whisper. She then pushed past him and headed upstairs without another word.

Ivan's father sighed and stood up from the chair. He opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind and just shook his head disapprovingly as he left the room.

Ivan remained where he was until he heard his parents' door open again as his father entered it. Once it was closed that's when he tightened his fist and raised it to punch the wall as hard as he could, but then thought better of it and moved to take the stairs to his room. When he got into his room he noticed that it had been straightened up and ready for him to sleep in comfortably. His bed was made perfectly and awaited him, his carpet was spotless and vacuumed, his desk was in order, his TV was no longer covered in DVDs, and his laundry basket was empty. He went to his dresser to find all the clothing within folded and neat, and not a single weapon hidden in the folds. He then rushed to closet to see everything hanging up that should be and shoes aligned with keepsake boxes below. He walked into his closet to grab his pipe but to his dismay, it was missing as well.

"Oh god," he said softly as he tried to piece together how his things could have gone missing.

He looked around his room frantically until he noticed something poking out from under his pillow. He snatched it up, only to discover that it was a note from Katyusha.

'Father searched your room, but Natalia and I beat him to it and hid your things. We'll talk later.'

A rush of relief washed over Ivan and he sank down onto his bed. He let out a breath as his racing heart slowed down, then crumpled up the note and let it fall to the floor. His relief, however, soon morphed into anger as he sat in silence in his room. Everything was just so unfair. It wasn't his fault Carlos was so quick to anger, that his parents were awful, that his life had fallen apart all because of Alfred. If Alfred had just ignored his feelings like he had everything would still be the same.

_'No it wouldn't. You can't even ignore your own feelings.'_

Ivan frowned as his subconscious corrected him and moved to bury his face in his hands. He took a ragged breath as he tried to keep himself in check, his anger was getting the best of him and he desperately wanted to hurt someone. He just wanted his problems to melt away, to fix themselves and leave him be. He just wanted an easy way out for once in his life.

_'I can help,' said a happy voice. 'Heroes always help others!'_

_Ivan looked up to see Alfred standing before him with his hands behind his back. He was wearing his typical gang clothing—baggy hoodie, skinny jeans, snapback, bandana, sneakers—but he wore glasses instead of contacts._

_'How can you help me?'_

_Alfred pulled down his bandana to smile brightly, and Ivan found himself feeling warm inside._

_'By giving you what you want: peace,' Alfred said cheerfully, then removed his hands from behind his back._

_What he held was Ivan's pipe and his own baseball bat. It was painted silver with a black grip and had stickers all over it; Alfred cherished it just as much as Ivan cherished his pipe. He stepped up to Ivan, getting between the other's legs and waved the pipe back and forth._

_'We are going to take care of your parents, then Carlos.'_

_'We are?'_

_Alfred nodded his head enthusiastically and set down the weapons to get closer to Ivan. He moved to straddle Ivan's lap, resting his knees on the edge of the bed. He gave a smirk as he wrapped his arms around Ivan's scarf clad neck and leaned down close enough to kiss._

_'We are. Then after, you'll finally get the one thing you've been denying yourself for longer than you actually think," Alfred said. "Me."_

_Ivan felt his heart stop in his chest at hearing this, and before he could even say anything Alfred was all over him. Alfred's lips were pressed onto his own, kissing Ivan roughly. Ivan found himself grabbing Alfred's waist and sliding his hands up and under his hoodie as he kissed back hungrily._

_'I'm going to make it all better,' Alfred murmured between kisses._

_'Please do,' Ivan whispered back, wanting nothing more than for Alfred to take away his pain._

_Alfred smiled into their kisses then pushed Ivan down onto the bed. The Russian looked at Alfred with longing as the other stripped off his top layer of clothing and started to rock on Ivan's lap, rubbing their clothed erections together._

_'I will babe. I will,' Alfred assured him. 'Make it all go away.'_

_'Please... Please… Please… Please…Please…'_

The shrill beeping of an alarm clock startled Ivan from his sleep. He groaned as he reached over to shut the machine off and only succeeded in knocking it to the floor. He muttered curses as he went about picking it up and shutting it off properly then laid his head back down. He felt something soft and warm in his arms and cuddle with it contently as he still felt sleep clinging to him. He felt happy for some reason, relaxed, and found himself muttering:

"Thank you, Alfred."

He then opened his eyes slowly and for a split second he could have sworn he saw Alfred smiling back at him, but the image was quickly replaced with a strip of April sunshine shining brightly on a pillow he was cuddling. He furrowed his brow as he stared at the pillow and realized two things: 1) his lower half felt strange and 2) he had been dreaming. He sighed as he realized this, slightly hating that he hadn't had sex with Alfred or killed off his parents and Carlos. He looked at his pillow disappointingly, then pushed it away and sat up. He looked down at himself to see that he had somehow undressed himself partially in the night—his upper half was bare and freezing from the a/c, and his lower half was still partially dressed. His underwear, which had remained on him, had a white stain on it; his pants remained on one leg while the other was free, and one shoe had stayed on throughout the night.

He yawned as he looked at himself, then slid off the bed and undressed completely. He desperately wanted a shower as he felt just how much of a mess resided in his underwear. Ivan grimaced even more as he realized he hadn't showered all week, and had ended up sleeping in his bed, completely filthy.

He quickly went to correct this however, and after a thorough shower and thinking of a certain blonde, he was ready to get on with his day. Ivan honestly felt good for once, even if it was mostly because of his dream. As he stripped his bed, he realized that Alfred had made everything a little bit better. Dream Alfred had done everything he wanted, but real-life Alfred had comforted him at the park.

_"I'm nosy. You know that. You're my worst enemy and ex-friend. So, ya know, keep your friends close and your enemies closer."_

Ivan found himself smiling as he recalled Alfred's words and couldn't help but play the event over and over in his head. He knew Alfred had been vague that morning, and he knew what the other was possibly hinting at, but even if it was possible, was it really true? Did Alfred really like him, or was that his imagination?

"Of course I would know if I had paid attention more in the supply room," Ivan muttered, annoyed at himself.

But the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed that Alfred liked him, even if only a little bit. As much as Ivan would like to just stand in his room thinking about it, he was interrupted by a knock on his door, followed by it opening with a soft creak.

"Vanya, breakfast is ready," Natalia announced as she looked her brother.

Ivan just nodded his head in acknowledgement, but Natalia didn't leave. Instead she walked up to him and touched his face.

"Did you get attacked?" she asked as she noted the faded bruise on Ivan's cheek.

"No, I was the one attacking," he said simply, and Natalia just nodded her head before pulling back.

She eyed her brother as if searching for something—or perhaps trying to memorize every inch of him—then turned around to leave.

"Hurry up," she said suddenly. "Katyusha has breakfast waiting and she wants to talk to you."

Ivan just sighed as he recalled the note stating as such the night before. He grabbed his backpack from his desk and went to follow Natalia out of his room. The moment he made it to the kitchen and sat down Katyusha was eyeing him.

"Are you hurt badly?" she asked as she noticed the bruise.

"Nyet, just some scrapes."

She kept her eyes on her brother as he ate then said:

"Why did you fight Carlos?"

"He got in my way, but he didn't seem to understand that," Ivan said, keeping his eyes on his breakfast as he stabbed at it.

"It didn't have anything to do with Alfred?"

This question made Ivan pause and Katyusha only sighed in response.

"A lot of rumors have been going around Vanya," she began, "Whether they are true or not, I worry for you."

Ivan already knew this, having been told by Feliks, but he also knew better than to interrupt Katyusha. He did, however, look up at his sister and could see the concern on her face.

"The rumors are just rumors, Katyusha. I will be fine, it is nothing I cannot fix," he assured then stood from the table.

Katyusha just sighed once more as her brother put his dishes in the sink then headed out of the house. She didn't know what to do with him—whether he loved Alfred or not, whether he was picking a fight for territory, for drugs, whatever it was—she would always worry.

As Ivan walked to school, it felt as if he had never left. Everything went like clockwork as he walked down the sidewalks. His gang forming one by one, each member joining him on his walk as he passed by their homes or adjoining streets.

"It's good to have you back, Ivan," Toris said after joining the Russian.

"Yes, it really is good to be back," Ivan said with his iconic smile spreading across his face. "I have missed you all over the week," he said nonchalantly, which was somewhat true. He had forbidden any of his members to come see him because he had been so angry with his situation. He had wanted time away from everyone and everything.

"So, will we be handling Carlos soon? That guy has been itching to get punched since you left," Sadiq said.

"Da, but it will have to wait. I need to visit Basch to deal with him, but before that we have date to go to," Ivan announced.

"Really?" Gilbert asked surprised.

"Da, I ran into Alfred on Sunday and he wants to pay me back for ruining his leg."

"Hell yeah!" Ancia declared. He had been eager to get back at Kyle for the black eye he gave him last time.

"When will that be?" Toris asked.

"Same as always—midnight, but this time it'll be on our turf," Ivan announced.

His gang smiled at hearing this and talked excitedly about the fight, mostly Gilbert and Sadiq. When they made it to the school The Heroes had just arrived as well. Ivan found himself honing in on Alfred the instant he saw him. The blonde was laughing with his gang, and he wore a t-shirt with Donald Duck on it and black skinny jeans that Ivan found himself unable to look away from, that is, until Alfred turned around and noticed him. The blonde smiled unknowingly to Ivan and it reminded the Russian of his dream in an instant. He had to bite the inside of his cheek as Alfred gave his usual greeting.

"Well good morning, Shitinsky."

"Good morning dorogoy," Ivan replied though for once his endearment didn't sound so hateful, which he hadn't meant to do.

Alfred noticed the softer tone and bit his bottom lip at hearing it, but just rolled with it.

"Oh, somebody must have lost his virginity to be this happy in the morning. How big was he?"

Ivan arched a pale eyebrow at this and watched Alfred chuckle at his own humor.

"Don't you have a toilet to be changing shifts with?" Ivan asked smugly.

Alfred gave a mock-offended gasp, and stepped closer to Ivan, all the while smiling from ear to ear.

"Don't you have a corner to stand on?"

Ivan chuckled at hearing that, and took a few steps towards Alfred.

"Should I just break you here and now?" he asked as he stared into Alfred's amazingly blue eyes.

"Like you could break me with that tiny dick," Alfred said with a laugh as he took a step closer to Ivan.

"Still as vulgar as ever, Jones."

"I'll never change, babe."

The stared each other down, both holding twisted grins and death threats on their tongues—but for once, it didn't seem as hateful. Both gangs could see that something was different with their leaders. They couldn't quite place it, but they knew something had changed.

"I can't wait to grind your face into the dirt," Alfred said.

"And I can't wait to ruin your leg again," Ivan replied coolly. "Perhaps I'll break it properly this time."

Alfred let out a laugh.

"You're place at midnight?"

"Da."

The two stared each other down a while longer before Alfred noticed of how close Ivan was. He felt his face heat up, and Ivan noticed it instantly.

"Well, see you inside babe," Alfred cooed, trying to play off his blush.

Ivan just rolled his eyes and watched Alfred pull away from him. For some reason he didn't want the other to leave, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it. All he could do was watch Alfred walk away, which… wasn't all that bad.

He eventually started to follow Alfred's gang into the school, after Toris got his attention to focus on getting into the school. As they walked inside, they hadn't noticed that a pair of brown eyes had been watching the whole scene critically.

* * *

**Translations:**

Da/Nyet - yes/no

Dorogoy - Darling

***So 9.2** will be up next Saturday or sooner. I've made a **_mix tape_ ** for the fic titled **Blood Street on 8tracks** after getting a few comments about Troye Sivan fitting the Blood Street vibe! So **here's the link: http://8tracks.com/galaxiesandbrokenstars/blood-street**! I'm still chipping away at this story but I've come to find that it'll end with **15 chapters**! Anywho still more to come! Reviews welcomed! *****

**XXX**

**Also my retirement has been put off til mid July! Plans have changed a bit in my favor so I wont have to quit right away like I thought!**


	11. Blood Street 9.2

**Blood Street 9.2**

"Alright class, finals is only a few weeks away, and I have your last unit test right on my desk," Mr. Cav said. "Now, I won't give it to you today because we have to review first!"

The students in the history class groaned, but once their teacher announced the review was Jeopardy, they had a change of heart. Mr. Cav went about splitting the class into three teams and by the usual strange force in nature, Ivan and Alfred were on the same team. The two even sat next to each other in their team of five. Alfred watched as Ivan was handed the whiteboard and marker, then easily pass it off to one of the other students in their group.

Soon the lights were turned off and the projector was turned on to display the Jeopardy board. As the game began Alfred took out his notebook, intent to write notes on important facts, but became distracted. Ivan was sitting extremely close—hell, _everyone_ was—but it was Ivan's presence that was getting to him. He could feel the other's leg brushing against his own and he tried very hard to stay focused on the game, but he was fighting a losing battle.

_'Oh God I can smell him,'_ Alfred whined internally.

The honey blonde bit his bottom lip as he took in the scent. It was Ivan's typical smell—outdoorsy yet crisp, like a day after a good rain, plus with the added scent of Ivan's godforsaken body wash, it was killing Alfred. He noticed the scent many times, but now, with how things were between them, he was _really_ noticing it.

_'Ah damn it, is it going to be like this all the time now? First I can't trash his place, and now I'm trying to not get hard from his fuckin' scent?!'_

The situation with Alfred's raid had fallen apart after he had bought all of his "tools". After he had seen Ivan that Sunday morning, he couldn't bring himself to fuck with him since he was already going through a lot. Alfred knew how intense Ivan's dad could be from when they had been friends and he felt bad for the teen. He didn't necessarily act out of pity, it was more out of… well, _that_ feeling. He didn't want to risk Ivan never speaking to him if he raided like he planned, thus he now had a load of weapons stashed at his hangout.

Alfred honestly didn't know what to do with himself now that things seemed to have changed. How exactly? He had no clue, and he wanted to talk to Ivan about what exactly had changed. He knew that Ivan had to have liked him… in some way, by what he said on that day on the park bench.

_'Did I read into it too much?'_ Alfred asked himself, then looked over to Ivan, who was watching the teacher put a point on the board for their team.

When Ivan looked back at the team—Alfred, specifically—the teen quickly adverted his eyes and tapped his pencil on his blank notebook. Ivan felt his heart speeding up as he caught Alfred looking at him, but then calmed down as he noticed the other was starting to write something. Ivan couldn't help but be curious, and found himself surprised at what Alfred was writing. It was a note for him.

'Hey, I know we got a test in 7th period, but after it do you wanna get kicked out of class and just…walk around?'

Alfred prayed Ivan would say yes, he wanted to ask Ivan about that Sunday so badly now that he felt almost annoyed by it. He waited eagerly for an answer and soon got one as Ivan reached over to take his pencil from his hand and write a reply.

Alfred never thought a simple 'yes' could look so good on paper.

** :/:/:/:/: **

When 7th period rolled around Ivan and Alfred were ready for it. They breezed through their test then proceeded to slowly eat away at their teacher's nerves by not-so-quietly insulting each other. They went as far as throwing things at each other, but once Alfred "missed" and his pencil nearly nailed their teacher in the head…Well, both of them got what they wanted.

Alfred stretched out his back as he stood out in the hallway, and Ivan couldn't help but stare out of the corner of his eye.

"So," Alfred started as he dropped his arms and looked to Ivan. "Wanna head upstairs?"

The Russian nodded his head, and Alfred smiled brightly and started off for the stairs. They walked through the halls silently for a while, but once they were on the stairs, Alfred broke that silence.

"So, how was the return home?" he asked, not wanting to jump right into the topic he desperately wanted answers to.

"Not good as expected," Ivan said simply.

"Your dad got in your face?"

Ivan let out a sigh and nodded his head as Alfred looked back at him.

"More or less. I'd rather not talk about it," he said, to which Alfred just gave a nod of understanding.

"That's okay," Alfred replied as he got to the third floor, then turned around to see Ivan come up the few stairs left. "I mean, it was my fault, but mostly yours," he said as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets.

Ivan arched a brow at this, but then recalled what he had said at the park. He looked at Alfred briefly before looking down at the abandoned third floor. Their high school was still "improving" as their principal put it. Before the new principal came along the third floor had become a glorified storage area after the specialty classes that resided there got taken away. The principal wanted to bring them back, but for now it still remained a cluttered floor of desks, chairs, carts, supplies and deserted classrooms. Ivan took the lead as he decided on where to go, weaving through the desks and chairs in the hall.

"Alfred, I blame you for everything, and—" he paused as he thought of what he was about to admit. "And I mean, _everything_. I… I think you know what I'm talking about." Ivan said though he made it sound like a question.

He stopped in front of classroom labeled cooking lab and looked at Alfred expectantly. The blonde stared at Ivan in surprise, then blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I-I think I do," Alfred replied, which made Ivan's heart race in his chest. Alfred then looked at the classroom door and pointed at it. "Think it's unlocked?"

Ivan looked to the door, but before he could test it out, Alfred was already moving past him to find out. The blonde wiggled the knob then pushed on it forcefully, which made the door pop free of its frame with a creak then move inward smoothly. The early evening light shown through the massive picture windows along the wall facing the door. The room had rows of cooktop tables with sinks built in.

The two walked in and slowly and Alfred ran a finger over the tables to see a thick layer of dust residing there. An awkward silence seemed to settle over the two as they walked into the room. Neither knew what to say or do next. They didn't know where to take their conversation after finding out that they had some level of understanding, some level of mutual like.

"Alfred," Ivan said, a bit louder than he intended. Alfred turned around from where he was doodling into the dusty tables. He felt his chest aching at the sight of Ivan, and he didn't know what to do with himself.

"Yeah?" he said in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone.

"I, I just wanted to say that…" Ivan trailed off as he stepped closer to Alfred. He felt as much of a wreck as he had in the closet. So much was piling up as he got closer to his ex-friend and rival. The words he knew he needed to say felt strange and heavy on his tongue. "I'm sorry for what happened in the closet. I, didn't mean to…"

Ivan trailed off again, but this time he didn't try to fill in the space with anything. He felt so out of place after saying what he had, but also a little better as the guilt he had been harboring seemed to lessen. Alfred on the other hand was surprised at the apology and put a sleeve covered hand to his mouth. He needed something to cover the blush that he knew was burning on his face.

"It's—it's alright," said Alfred. "I said a lot things in there that I hadn't meant to… I…"

Ivan watched Alfred struggle to find his words, and he found it cute how he tried to play it off. He felt the urge to kiss Alfred once again, and took a step closer to Alfred absentmindedly. However, Alfred took notice of this and took a step back while putting up his hand to prevent Ivan from getting closer.

"Ivan," Alfred said a little too firmly, but Ivan froze where he stood then looked away from Alfred.

Another awkward silence came over them, and Alfred found himself needing a distraction, space, anything he could get his hands on before something happened that he or Ivan hadn't planned on. The blond swallowed thickly as he lowered his hand, then turned his head to look at the whiteboard/chalkboard. He walked over to it and found a piece of chalk still in the holder and took it in hand. He drew a line on the board as he tried to clear his head, but then started laughing softly as a random memory popped into his head. Ivan eyed Alfred oddly and asked him what was funny. Alfred paused at the question, but then turned around and smiled at Ivan.

"Do you, remember when we used to draw dicks on the chalk boards in 6th grade? We'd bet how long it'd take for the teacher to notice."

Ivan thought back on this, and couldn't stop the smile forming on his face as he remember the game. He had no idea how they started it, but it had been fun.

"Do you remember the time I made you eat sour cream and mustard together with nothing else?" Ivan asked as he kept smiling.

"Oh god, I still can't eat sour cream after that," Alfred groaned as he shuddered from the memory. "What about the time we almost fell into the river?"

Ivan started to laugh as he remembered that day. He and Alfred had found an old shopping cart and thought it'd be cool to ride it downhill. They had ended up nearly rolling right into the river, and it had only been avoiding because Ivan had tipped the cart over to save them.

Alfred laughed alongside Ivan as they recalled that terrifying, hilarious day. They spent all of 7th period talking about the things they used to do when they were still friends, of the good times they had. After the bell rang for 8th period to start Ivan started to mellow out and without thinking said:

"Why did we ever fight?"

Alfred instantly calmed down from laughing as he heard this and looked at Ivan beside him. The two of them had taken to sitting on the floor, their backs pressed against the wall with their legs stretch out.

"I…don't know, honestly," Alfred admitted.

Ivan hummed as he heard this and watched Alfred fidget with the sleeve of his jacket.

"Do… Do you regret splitting up? As friends, I mean?" Alfred asked.

"I—" Ivan stopped as Alfred put a hand to his mouth, silencing him.

The Russian stared at Alfred bewilderedly, a thousand things running through his mind as to why Alfred's warm, soft, and slightly sweaty fingers covered his mouth.

"Ssshhh," Alfred said softly then pulled his hand away.

He moved onto his hands and knees, and slowly crawled to the left of the room to see the open classroom door. He stared at the doorway for a while, but after a few seconds of nothing, he inched a little closer. Ivan stayed back—he didn't trust himself, even though he wanted to join Alfred in whatever he was doing. He had a full view of Alfred's ass, and with his current record of dreams concerning that specific ass and its owner, Ivan didn't dare move. After a few tense moments, Alfred finally got to his feet and dusted himself off before turning back to him.

"Sorry, I could have sworn someone was watching us," he said.

"Really? Perhaps it is just paranoia, da? You always had more of that then me," Ivan said, which earned him an eye roll from Alfred.

"Shut up. You know if we get caught up here—"

"Alfred, nothing will happen. No one can do anything to us, promise," Ivan said confidently.

He knew that if any student or teacher had stumbled upon them they'd surely back away. When either gang leader was around no one dared to bother them—except for a select few teachers, but why would those perfectly rule abiding teachers be on the third floor? They wouldn't, thus they had nothing to fear.

Alfred looked at Ivan blankly as he heard this, then sat down with his legs folded under him.

"Protective much?" Alfred asked with a grin.

"Perhaps," Ivan said simply, not bothered by his words. "But make no mistake, when we met up on Friday I _will_ destroy you."

Alfred let out a snort at that and shook his head. He punched Ivan in the shoulder playfully as he smiled at him.

"I'd like to see you try."

* * *

***Sry for the late update! I had to do all kinds of shit this morning that I didn't plan on doing and just-ugh TTJTT But, oh well. I hope you liked the new chp! There's still more to come! Reviews welcomed!***


	12. Blood Street 10

**Blood Street 10**

As Friday drew closer, so did Alfred and Ivan. They insulted each other and had almost endless banter whenever they crossed paths in the school halls more often than usual. They even worked together when grouped together for class activities, and by the looks of it, they worked together to get kicked out of classes. The two gang leaders could be seen almost daily, strolling through the hallways after getting kicked out of their classes or just walked out of their own volition. They always headed up to the third floor of Building 5 without a care in the world.

Nobody knew about this, however—not even Alfred and Ivan's own gang was truly aware of what they did—except for one person. One person that made Alfred paranoid that he was being watched, one person who was eager to see Ivan bloodied.

"Do you think Braginsky and Jones seem a little close?"

Jam pulled an earbud out as he realized that Carlos was talking to him.

"What?"

Carlos glared at him halfheartedly then jerked his head to the side in the direction of Ivan's lunch table.

"Don't they look a little too close?" Carlos asked again.

Jam looked over to see Alfred and Ivan talking with each other while their gangs exchanged smug looks.

"T'ey look the same as always, mon," Jam said.

"No, something's changed. I've been following them for a while now and I know something's up between them," Carlos said confidently as he eyed the gangs to his right.

Jam just shrugged his shoulders then leaned onto their table. It was a basic round table that only seated a total of five members of the Green Rock Gang.

"Ay, you know, that Eliza is the one from our gang. I bet the boss would love to see her again," Jam said nonchalantly.

Carlos perked up at hearing this and looked away from Ivan to his friend.

"That's perfect," he said with a smile coming to his face. "She's the one that bombed the deal and ran off. So Alfred was the one that saved her…" Carlos' smile grew wider as he started to finally put a plan together. "I know what we're going to do. We'll tell the boss and we'll join in on their "date" —and of course he'll approve—then we're gonna fuckin' _destroy_ Braginsky."

Jam nodded in agreement, but paused as he became confused.

"How would we 'destroy' him?" he asked.

Carlos eyed his friend harshly before rolling his eyes.

"You really need to cut back on the weed," he snapped. "Anyway, we'd get rid of Braginsky with Eliza. Since she was taken in by Alfred we have full rights to go after him too. And Alfred has become close with—"

"With, Braginsky. I get it," Jam interrupted then smiled as he nodded his head.

"Good. And as a plus, Braginsky's gotten on the boss's nerves after coming through our territory last week and picking fights," Carlos said while Jam kept nodding his head. "They plan to meet up on Braginsky's turf so we gotta get there just when Alfred does."

Jam continued to nod along, but at this point Carlos realized that the Jamaican had lost himself in the music still coming through his other earbud. He pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation, but decided to leave things be because he was excited for tonight. He'd get back at Ivan for making a fool of him and it was going to be good.

** :/:/:/:/: **

As the day passed by, Alfred found himself under the scrutinizing eyes of his gang. He had asked them what was wrong, and they were on him like white on rice. They demand answers for his behavior as of late. They all had noticed that Alfred was a lot more, calm but also bursting with more energy than ever while having a dopey look on his face almost 24/7. Alfred of course denied all these things and even more so when his friends said he liked someone. Francis had been the one to come up with this conclusion and Alfred had persistently denied it, though on the inside he was freaking out. He didn't think it showed so obviously, but he was proven wrong easily, though he still managed to get out of the accusation.

However, by the time school ended—a "see you tonight" was exchanged with his gang, while a halfhearted death threat was exchanged with Ivan—Alfred found himself being questioned once more about his nonexistence romance.

"Al, I know you like someone," Matthew said as he eyed his brother from their shared bathroom.

Alfred let out a sigh and looked up from his dresser where he was searching for his brass knuckles. They only had a few hours before it was time to meet the General Winter Gang for their fight, and he did not want to deal with his brother's questions.

"Mattie, come on. I don't like anyone. Now get ready, we gotta leave soon," Alfred said then shut the drawer he was looking into, giving up on the search.

Matthew eyed him as he moved to his closet.

"Okay, fine, but answer this real quick—"

"If I want to, oh brother of mine," Alfred interrupted as he opened his closet door and stepped inside.

Matthew rolled his eyes and moved further into the room to keep his brother in his line of sight.

"What's going on between you and Ivan? Lately you two seem to be more… _close_."

Alfred was deep into his closet as he heard this question and he felt his heart drumming loudly in his chest. He swallowed thickly as he tried to stay calm.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I still hate his ass and he still hates me," he said in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice.

He then went back to rummaging through his closet and finally found the case he wanted. He pulled it out and the instant he stepped out of his closet, holding his baseball bat case, Matthew was right behind him with skeptical blue-violet eyes. Alfred jumped at the closeness and intense stare, nearly dropping his case.

"Jesus, Mattie, why are you so damn quiet?!"

"Alfred, you are my little brother. I'm technically older than you by four minutes, now tell me what the hell is going on. I've seen you like people before, but never like this. It doesn't look so forced. I've also known Ivan just as long as you have known him and I know how you two are. So spill it hoser," Matthew demanded and Alfred just gave a crooked smile and inched back from his brother.

He opened his mouth to deny everything, but he knew he'd never get out of this confrontation. He sighed deeply as he realized his fate and moved to set his bat on his bed.

"Okay, fine. Damn Mattie, you are such a hardass."

"Thank you."

Alfred gave a snort then faced his brother.

"Okay, in all honesty here…I don't know what's going on between us," Alfred admitted. "Like…You know about the closet thing—"

"Yeah but you never told me what happened," Matthew interjected as he looked at Alfred rub the back of his neck.

"Right, right, well… What happened was…Well during the time I was recovering I had a—" Alfred paused as he mustered up the courage to come clean about everything. "I had a sexy dream about Ivan," he finally got out and quickly added, "And, I know that sounds gross and insane, but it happened and it was about that night we got arrested and, ugh I don't know. Ever since then he's been in my head more than usual and I started to..." Alfred blushed lightly as he thought about it and he didn't dare look at Matthew. "What happened in the closet was me finally letting everything out. I told Ivan everything, how I felt, and he tried to kiss me and I had wanted it, but then…he didn't…and he just rejected me… I guess…"

Once Alfred finished this he decided to finally look up at Matthew and what he saw was a blank face. His twin just stared at him blankly, but then moved to sit down on Alfred's bed.

"Wow…He tried to kiss you?" Alfred just nodded and Matthew furrowed his brow as he processed the information. "So…if he rejected you… then how are you two…?"

"I don't know Mattie. Like, when I told you on Sunday I was going to get tools, well, turned out Ivan was there at the meet up. He was at the park looking like he'd kill himself in the river any second."

"You didn't tell me that," Matthew said as he looked at his brother.

"I _know_ , but look, we talked at the park. I just sat down next to him and asked him what was wrong and then…I guess we kinda admitted our feelings… but I don't know… It was all vague, but I think that's what happened. Then when he came back to school on Monday, we kicked ourselves out of 7th period and talked on the third floor. I wanted to talk to him about what happened at the park and we confessed to liking each other again, I think, and he apologized for what he did in the closet. The thing is, it was still vague, so I feel like I got it, but still didn't… In the end we just dropped the topic and talked about middle school, and…I asked him if he regretted splitting up in 8th grade…"

"Did you get an answer?" Matthew asked genuinely curious.

"No, I made him shut up because I thought someone was watching us. I still think someone was there. There's loads of dust up on the third floor."

Alfred let out a sigh as he said this, recalling how there seemed to be more footprints than originally. He then moved to sit down on the bed and laid back on it.

"So, you and Ivan like each other?"

"I guess…"

"Do you like him?"

"I, I guess so… I mean, he's still an asshole that I want to punch in the face, but I can't—God Mattie I don't know! If I like him and it's not the same like that he has then it's gonna be a cluster fuck of problems that I don't want! He's such a jerk, but he's hot. He deserves to die, but by my hands. I want to punch his face in, but also kiss it!" Alfred raved and whined.

Matthew gawked at Alfred as he heard this then had a smile come to his face. He started to laugh as processed everything Alfred had told him, and then he poked his twin who started to pout.

"You don't like him. You _love_ him."

Alfred wide eyed at hearing this and he felt like his heart would just up and explode.

' _No, no, I can't! I—'_

"You _love_ him, Al," Matthew said again, as he could tell that Alfred was internally freaking out. "I know you know it. Stop being so dense," he said, then got up from the bed.

"Wait! So you're saying you'd be cool with that? If I was in love with him that is… Which I'm not! I only, uh… like him."

Matthew gave a hum as he thought about, it then shook his head no.

"I don't care who you date, but I don't trust Ivan all that much. I'll support you if you two do date, but I still don't think it's such a good idea. You and I, hell _everyone_ , knows how he treats people. Besides, can you even fight him if you're in love with him?"

Alfred paused as he heard this. It hadn't dawned on him that Ivan would ever snap at him like he did others. Sure, he'd been on the end of that a few times when Ivan was having really bad days, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He always got revenge, always got even, and Ivan accepted that.

"I'll be fine," he said. "Besides, I have to fight him. He fucked up my leg and I gotta get even."

Matthew just sighed and told his brother to watch his back, before going into his room to finish getting ready for the fight ahead. Alfred watched him go then looked over to his baseball bat. He stared at it blankly, feeling uncertain, then let out curse and grabbed the bat.

"Hurry the fuck up bro, or I'mma leave you here!"

Matthew shot back a string of creative slurs that had Alfred laughing. The twins eventually got out of the house then rushed towards the city to get to their hang out. They dipped through back streets, alleys, and avoided the drunkards, non-high school gangs, and drug dealers already prowling the streets. They soon arrived at an old rundown apartment complex and slipped into the alley beside it. They climbed up the fire escape to get to their floor; they had learned never to enter the building from front unless it was daytime. It attracted attention that neither Alfred nor anyone in his gang wanted from the people walking the streets.

After climbing four flights of stairs they made it to the window they needed and slipped in with ease. The room was filled with moth-eaten and stained furniture. It looked like the person who lived there previously had only taken a few things and left the rest. It was rare to find rooms like this, but Matthew had been the one to find that the door to the apartment wouldn't open for anything.

"Where's everyone else?" Matthew asked as he looked around the apartment, going into the kitchen then the bedroom to find no one in sight.

"I told them to come in shifts. I, uh, went overboard with the tools so trying to have us all here and leave would be pretty difficult if a cop just happened to park out front," Alfred admitted and Matthew rolled his eyes.

Alfred just smiled and pulled a flashlight from his pocket and went to the coat closet in the apartment. He rummaged through piles of food wrappers, old clothes, and shooed out a few cats that had taken to living in the apartment before getting to his bag of tools. He had had two duffel bags full of stuff, but he could tell everyone had gotten as much on their person as possible as he lifted the bag.

"Light as hell," he praised and opened it up to see what remained.

Three switch blades, spiked brass knuckles, rope, lighters, rags, and bottles of booze.

"What the hell is that," Matthew asked as he got a look inside the bag.

Alfred swallowed thickly as he recalled his original intentions for ordering so much.

"Where you going to burn down his hang out?!" Matthew asked incredulously. "Answer me Alfred!"

"Okay, okay! Damn, I was only gonna burn it a little… but things changed!" Alfred declared then closed the bag and put it over his shoulder with his baseball bat.

Matthew eyed his brother angrily then pinched the bridge of his nose before moving away.

"God, Al…No, no just take the lighters and booze out now. We are not leaving here with that stuff."

Alfred sighed in defeat, not even trying to fight his brother. He knew himself that he shouldn't have bought it, but what could he say? He was an impulse shopper.

Once the booze and lighters were removed, the twins headed back out the window to meet their gang at the edge of their territory. It was only a quick jog through the alleys to get where they needed to be and easily spotted their friends. Alfred felt lighter than air at seeing his gang and didn't waste any time with stopping to greet them. He only shouted at them to hurry up as he took to running into Ivan's territory. Kyle was quick on his heels, excited as always. Matthew was right behind him with Kiku and Eliza on his tail. Francis and Arthur were bringing up the rear.

As the Heroes ran to the fight of their life a black car drove idly behind. It didn't speed up to pass them by, just rolled down the street until it came to a stop at Queen Ave. and 9th Street. It parked in front of a building that had been tagged weeks ago by the Heroes leader and stayed still as The General Winter Gang stepped out of their hang out.

Ivan smirked at the gang in front of him and could instantly tell their fight was going to be a long one.

"Hello lapushka? Did you run all the way here?" Ivan asked as he eyed the blonde. "Are you actually that excited to lose to me?"

"Babe, I ain't losing to anyone. You're gonna be the one on your knees," Alfred joked as he smiled widely.

Ivan opened his mouth to retort, but he stopped when he caught sight of something. He found himself focused on a black car not far from him as he heard its doors open and close. He cocked his head to the side as he saw the people getting out of it and heading his way. Alfred looked at him confused then followed his gaze to see Carlos, Jam, and a large group of lackeys from the Green Rock Gang.

"What are they doing here?" Alfred and Matthew asked in unison.

Ivan stared unblinking, but took a step forward instinctively to block Carlos from getting any closer to his gang or Alfred's. Carlos only smiled at them and moved his brown eyes from Ivan's cold face to Alfred's confused expression, and settled on Eliza's tense eyes.

"Why are you here Carlos?" Ivan asked.

The Cuban kept his smile in place and looked back at Ivan.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm here to join in the fun."

* * *

**Translations:**

Lapushka - sweetheart

***So I've come to find that the story will be 15 chapters long, but the 15th is just a bonus chapter ;3 (When I say 15 I mean there's 5 chps left after this one.) Thanks for sticking with me and giving me reviews! It really helps me out yall! ^J^ See ya next Saturday!***


	13. Blood Street 11

**Blood Street 11**

A look of permanent confusion resided on Alfred's face as he looked at Carlos. Ivan only arched a pale eyebrow as the Cuban smirked at him, then at Alfred.

"Oh come on. You should have seen this coming Ivan, or was you too busy starin' at Alfred's ass?" Carlos asked as he laughed.

Ivan stiffened as he heard this, and eyed Carlos critically.

"Are you really going to go up against me because you lost in petty fight?" he asked, his voice dangerously calm.

Carols' smirk dropped instantly and he glared at Ivan.

"I'm going to make you pay Braginsky," he said darkly and took a step closer. "But that's not all".

Ivan looked at the teen curiously, and watched him look over to Alfred and Eliza. Ivan saw Carlos take a step towards them, and instinctively moved to block him. Carlos' smirk came back to his face at the action.

"They have nothing to do with this," Ivan said firmly.

"Oh, but they do," Carlos said. "My boss made it clear that they do. And you, Ivan, made it onto his shit list with them after you came into our territory last week."

Alfred leaned to the side to look around Ivan, and Carlos locked eyes with him.

"You all gonna get it," Carlos said with a laugh—and before Ivan or Alfred could process what was going on, Carlos lunged for them.

Ivan grabbed at Alfred and pushed him back to take on the full force of the teen. The instant Carlos made his move, the other members of the Green Rock Gang jumped in to fight the Heroes and General Winter Gang. Alfred was no exception, particularly because two of Carlos' friends came right for him after Ivan shoved him back. He adjusted himself into a fighting stance, quickly getting his head into fuck-you-up mode, and swinging his prized bat.

"Who the fuck do you think you is!" Alfred shouted as he swung his bat.

The painted wood bashed into one of the teens' side, knocking them into another gang member. They fell out on the ground and before either one could get up Gilbert and Kiku were on them. Alfred smiled crookedly in approval then turned his back to them, his mind honing in on the root of this fight: _Carlos_.

The Cuban was having trouble landing punches and kicks on Ivan's tall but swift from. He only got in one punch that resulted in Ivan's busted lip, but that was all Ivan was going to allow. Ivan feinted to the left, and immediately followed it with a punch to the stomach. Carlos stumbled back, but quickly recovered and went at Ivan with a brass knuckled hand. Ivan instinctively moved back as the teen came for him, and whipped out his pipe quickly to slap it against the hand. Carlos cried out as the metal hit his brass knuckles, but shook off the pain and grabbed at the pipe. Ivan easily kept it out of the shorter teen's reach as he avoided his attacks.

Alfred glared at the two fighting and opened his mouth to direct a question and insult towards Carlos, but he was curtailed as something hit his back. He gasped from the pain and turned around to swing at however had hurt him. The culprit had been Jam, whose typically relaxed form dipped smoothly out of the bat's reach. Alfred cursed under his breath and tightened his grip on his bat as he went after Jam. The Jamaican smirked and slipped past Alfred and grabbed the hood on his jacket. He yanked on it hard enough to choke Alfred and make him fall backwards.

"Ah, _fuck_!" Alfred said as he winced in pain.

When he opened his eyes he came face to face with the bottom of Jam's sandal. He closed his eyes quickly to wait for the impact but it never came.

"For a hero, you're pretty spineless, mon," Jam said as he looked at Alfred now glaring up at him. "I don' care for what Carlos has planned, but tere's somet'ing you should know."

"What the fuck you gotta say that's so important?" Alfred asked, irritated and ready to break the foot that hovered above his face.

"One of you ain't going to live after dis."

Alfred wide-eyed at hearing this as he caught onto the ominous warning, but before it could fully register in his head Jam brought down his foot. He smashed it into Alfred's face, almost breaking his nose, but Alfred didn't let him do any more damage than that. He let go of his bat to grab the teen's foot and twisted it as hard as he could. Jam let out an inhuman shriek as he fell back and clutched his broken ankle. Alfred rolled onto his knees and grabbed his bat to help him get off the ground. Once on his feet he could feel the blood running from his nose, but ignored it as he caught sight of Eliza. The girl was being held by two of the Green Rock members while being punched by a third.

"You know Jam, yer right," Alfred said to the still crying teen. "Someone isn't gonna live after this."

He then gave Jam one last kick, right into his ribs, before leaving him on the ground and walking toward Eliza. He walked evenly, but briskly to the Green Rock Gang crowding his own gang member, his own friend. As he got closer he could hear them trash talking her and himself.

"You think you can leave the gang like that?" one of them asked.

"You think the boss would forget about what you and that fuckin' homo did?!" yelled the teen that held Eliza's left arm.

Eliza tried to fight back, but she was outnumbered three to one.

"It wasn't like that!" she defended.

"Then what was it like, huh?!" one of them asked as he grabbed at her shirt and whipped out a knife.

"Like this!"

Before anyone could blink a large bat came flying and smashed right into the knife-wielding teen's face. Alfred felt his anger rising as he fought off the teens holding back Eliza and snapped as he heard Carlos laughing in the distance.

"What the fuck is yer deal?!" Alfred yelled as he shoved the last conscious opponent's face into the concrete.

He whipped his head up to look at Carlos and stared owlishly at what was behind him. The Cuban was still laughing as he backed away from an injured Ivan. The Russian had a dark bruise forming under one eye, and blood running from his forehead that met with already dried blood from his busted lip.

"This is for the bad drug deal!" Carlos announced. "You and Eliza cost the boss hundreds, and he's been dying for a chance to get back you both. I gave him that chance, and now I'm his right hand!" he shouted with joy.

Alfred and Ivan, on the other hand, were completely sick of his shit and were ready to wipe that smug grin off his face.

"Fuck him up, Alfred," Eliza encouraged as she held her stomach.

Alfred only gave a nod and let his bat drag on the ground as he walked towards Carlos. The Cuban had a smug look on his beaten face as he watched Alfred advanced in his beat up state, but it was soon wiped off by Ivan's fist. Ivan punched Carlos square in the jaw, blood spewing from his mouth from a tooth being dislodged. The Russian had seemed to appear out of thin air and punched Carlos with the force of a brick falling from a 20 story building.

Carlos felt his jaw click and creaking before and after the punch, and felt hot tears prick his eyes as he looked up at Ivan. The Russian was absolutely livid—He was covered in blood, of his own and Carlos' (which stained his scarf), and his eyes filled with bad intentions. Carlos however, didn't care. He only become more angry and lunged for Ivan again. He body-slammed Ivan into the concert lot and grabbed his scarf before punching him in the face, bloodying Ivan's scarf more with each punch.

"I'mma break that fuckin' big nose!" Carlos spat as he went to make good on his word.

"No the fuck you ain't!" Alfred yelled, and Carlos came face to face with Alfred's foot.

The blonde had practically sprinted over Ivan after seeing Carlos punch the tired looking Russian over and over. Alfred had roundhouse kicked Carlos right off of him, and he hoped he broke the fucker's nose. Ivan stared up at Alfred dazedly as he felt weight of Carlos practically fly off of him and Alfred just smirked.

"Don't be so surprised. I can't stand seeing someone else on top of you that ain't me," Alfred said jokingly, though it held more truth than either one cared to admit at the moment.

Ivan just moved to sit up, but he couldn't help smile coming to his face. For a second he felt happy, but it quickly faded, just like his smile, as Carlos' annoying voice broke out.

"I knew you two were faggots."

Alfred paused as he heard this, then looked up at Carlos picking himself up off the ground. The Cuban just smirked at them and went on to say:

"I've been watching you two for days and I fuckin' knew it. You sick fucks are banging each other."

"You piece of shit," Alfred started as he stared at Carlos and began to walk towards him. "Don't you know that's a bad word?" Alfred inquired as he gripped his bat tightly and smiled darkly.

"What, _fag_ , getting your feelings hur—"

Carlos was cut off as Alfred's bat came right for his face. The Cuban only had time to take a step back which resulted in the bat connecting with his shoulder. Carlos let out a cry of pain and fell to his knees as his balance failed.

"Holy fuck, shitshit _shit_!" he cried out as he clutched his shoulder.

"I think you need to wash your mouth out," Alfred said still smiling and jabbed his bat into Carlos' injured shoulder.

"You fuckin' faggot," Carlos hissed, his anger going beyond boiling over.

"You're gonna need a deep clean," Alfred stated.

The blonde then raised his bat, but at the same time Carlos used his good arm to reach into his jacket pocket. As Alfred positioned the bat over his head, Carlos started to pull his hand out. As Alfred went to bring the bat down, Carlos pointed his gun.

"ALFRED!"

Alfred didn't know who said his name, but it made him snap out of his state of anger and disgust to see the gun. He froze mid-swing and his blue eyes were wide as he stared down the barrel of a sleek handgun.

Everyone turned to see what was going on, and all stopped to watch the gun pointed at the Heroes' leader.

"Not so tough now huh, cocksucker?" Carlos spat as he started to get to his feet.

"Al!" Matthew called out and went to run towards his twin, but a Green Rock member held him back.

"Nobody move!" Carlos shouted.

The silence that followed was deafening; not a single person moved. All eyes were trained on the weapon in his hand.

"Carlos."

The Cuban turned to the side at hearing his name, and saw his initial target standing tall and cautious.

"What? Worried you're gonna lose the only thing you could fuck?" Carlos asked with a laugh, sounding almost maniacal.

"Put the gun down," Ivan said calmly.

"Why would I do that?" Carlos asked keeping his gun aimed at Alfred. Ivan took a step toward him. Carlos retaliated by turning off the safety and cocking the gun. "One more step and I'll shoot him!" he said. His eyes were wild and dangerous.

Ivan tensed at this and looked over to Alfred who was still frozen with shock. The blonde was still holding his arms up with his bat, as if ready to hit Carlos with it.

"Carlos, it's me you're mad at. Not Alfred," Ivan said, a little firmer than he intended.

Carlos turned back to Ivan, then looked between Alfred and Ivan, before shrugging his shoulders and moving his gun towards Ivan.

"You're right. I'll deal with you first," he said darkly.

The instant Carlos pulled the trigger everything seemed to slow down to a painful crawl. Matthew had been ready to call Carlos' bluff, along with the rest of his and Ivan's crew, but they were all proven wrong. Alfred didn't think as he watched the crazed teen, and without warning, he jumped in front of Carlos just as the trigger was pulled back.

Everything seemed to move on fast forward x3 from there. Alfred felt something fast and solid hit his chest, then a burning stabbing sensation. The air seemed to leave his lungs and he found himself falling forward. Alfred heard his name being screamed, a stab of fear ran through him, panicked violet eyes crossed his vision, and the brush of a hand trying to grab at him fell away.

"ALFRED!"

No one moved. Everyone stared as Alfred collapsed onto the ground, and it wasn't until then that Matthew finally broke free of his captors. He ran to his twin and rolled him over to see the wound. He unzipped Alfred's hoodie frantically, cursing as he struggled to open it, then paled as he finally saw the wound.

"Oh god, Alfred!" Matthew cried.

Alfred's shirt was already soaked with blood. A hole was in the material and spewing from it was dark red blood.

Ivan walked stiffly to the twins and looked at the bleeding teen. Alfred's eyes were open, but he looked dazed as he tried to speak to his brother as he bled out in his arms. Ivan then directed his gaze to Carlos. The Cuban's anger was now gone, and as Ivan's eyes bore into him his hand holding the gun started to shake.

"You shot him," Ivan growled. "You shout Alfred."

The Cuban felt his gun nearly fall out of his hand as Ivan stepped closer. His violet eyes were murderous, but Carlos tried to save face.

"W-What, you wanna get shot too, you fag? Wanna die like you're whor—"

Carlos didn't get to finish his sentence for Ivan was on him instantly. He had crossed the short distant to Carlos and had his fingers digging into the shorter teen's shirt and yanked on it.

"You say one thing about him, I will make your death more painful than I already planned."

Ivan then shoved Carlos on to the ground, knocking the gun out of his hand, and pinned him. He reached for the knife in his coat and he flicked it out to put it next to Carlos's left eye. He smiled at the fear showing so brightly in those brown eyes then trialed the knife down to his stomach. He didn't pierce it, just threatening too.

"No one hurts Alfred. No one," Ivan said, and just as he buried the tip of the knife into Carlos a siren broke out.

Everyone whipped their heads around as they realized there were two different sirens. The sirens of an ambulance and a cop car or two where blaring a few streets over and getting closer and closer. Ivan looked to Alfred then noticed Matthew holding a cellphone.

"Ivan, he needs to go to the hospital!"

Once Matthew said this Carlos shoved Ivan back and yanked the knife out. He then scrambled to his feet, scooped up his gun, and booked it to his car. He clutched his gun tightly as he yelled for his people to run. Ivan snarled at the teen running from him and grabbed his knife. He stood quickly intent on snatching up Carlos, not wanting the bastard who hurt his Alfred get away, but Matthew intervened.

"Ivan, stop!" he shouted. "Alfred doesn't want you shot!"

The Russian stopped instantly, and slowly put his knife away as he looked back at the brothers. He moved over to Alfred as Matthew adjusted his head on his lap.

"How is he?" Ivan asked as he got down to be bedside them.

"Not good."

"Is it really that bad?" Alfred asked in a ragged voice as he looked at his brother. "Like, it feels like it's on fire… Is it on fire?"

Matthew smiled at hearing this and shook his head.

"No Al, you're not on fire."

Alfred let out a huff then hissed from the action and instinctively grabbed at anything around him. That something turned out to be Ivan's wrist and Ivan quickly realized how much pain was hidden in those bright blue eyes.

"Alfred," Ivan said tenderly, although his voice was almost drown out by the sirens.

"Hey big guy…"

Ivan moved his left hand to touch Alfred's beaten face absentmindedly. He held onto his hand tightly with his right, lacing their fingers together, as a worried expression came to his face.

"Ya know," Alfred murmured, "getting shot sucks balls, but not as much as you on a Friday night."

Ivan let out a laugh at hearing that. Alfred tried to do the same, but winced in pain. Matthew tried his best to sooth him and Alfred found himself getting dizzy.

"Ah fuck," he groaned. "I'mma pass out. I'm gonna die aren't I?"

"No, you'll be okay," Ivan said quickly as he rubbed Alfred's cheek. "Promise," he said firmly as he tightened his hold on Alfred.

"Protective much?"

Ivan just smiled and Alfred let out a sigh. He then looked up at Ivan in a way that had the Russian feeling like he could cry right then and there.

"Vanya… I—I…"

Alfred was cut off by the wailing sirens, which were getting louder and louder as they continued. Finally they blared for a few seconds longer then shut off, but by then Alfred had passed out. Ivan stared at Alfred with an almost pleading look for the other to start talking as the flashing lights of cop cars and an ambulance moved across Alfred's limp form.

As EMTs and cops alike came scrambling over, Ivan found it hard to let go of Alfred's hand. He was finally pulled back by Matthew and another EMT, and as he watched them work he let out a ragged breath.

"You haven't called me Vanya in years…"

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***Just rips out your soul right?! ^J^ Well there's still a few chapters left! Reviews Welcomed!***


	14. Blood Street 12

**.+Has now been edited+.**

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**Blood Street 12**

"Are you really going on a date with Dr. Williams?" asked Jackie Montgomery as she stared at her friend.

She and Lily Jones were on their lunch in the emergency wing of the hospital. Lily felt her face heat up at the question, but avoided answering by taking another bite of her sandwich. This, however, was all the proof her friend needed.

"Look at you! It's about damn time, I swear!" said Jackie triumphantly.

"Stop it, it's not that big of a deal," Lily said defensively.

Jackie replied with a skeptical look and cocked her head to the side.

"Girl, that man has been eyeing you forever," she teased. "And you know he's good with kids."

Lily rolled her eyes at the last comment seeing that Dr. Williams was a pediatric doctor. She let out a huff as Jackie poked her shoulder and went to take another bite of her food, but before she could her pager went off. She grabbed it to see that a teen in critical condition had just arrived and nurses were needed for surgery.

"Ah, sorry Jackie I gotta go," Lily said quickly as she tossed out the remainder of her lunch and scrambled out of the break room.

"Alright, but we ain't done talking about this!" Jackie called out as her friend left.

Lily jogged through the halls to get to the emergency room she was needed in. She quickly dressed in her surgical scrubs and upon entering the room she could already see the kid being hooked up to machines and the doctor shouting orders. She went to get closer to the table and felt her heart skip a beat. A boy, beaten and bloody, laid on the operating table, and as she looked harder she could see a hole in his chest. An eerie sense of familiarity came over her as she watched a nurse wipe the blood and grime off his face before apply a breathing mask.

"Alfred?"

Lily's worries where only confirmed as the doctor asked for details on her patient.

"He's 17 and named Alfred Jones," said another nurse who held a clipboard. "He took a bullet to the chest and fell unconscious due to blood loss. There is no exit wound so the bullet is still lodged in his chest, doctor."

The other personnel in the room paused at hearing this and watched Lily as she reached out a hand to brush aside the dirty hair on the teen's face.

"Oh god," she gasped.

"Lily, you need to go," said the doctor quickly as she armed herself with a scalpel.

Lily looked at the woman with wild eyes and shook her head vigorously.

"No! No, I'm not leaving him," she said, her voice heavy with forced calm.

"Lily, you can't—"

"I. Am. Staying," she said firmly, and the others let her be.

Lily did her best to keep face as she assisted in the operation but once the scalpel was cutting through Alfred and more blood surfaced, she had to leave. She rushed out of the O.R. doing her best to hold back tears and a barrage of emotions ranging from fear to anger. She ended up coming through the doors leading into the waiting room and put a hand over her heart as she tried to calm down.

"Is Alfred okay!?" came a worried voice that Lily knew all too well.

She looked up to see Matthew standing from his seat along with many other kids that she knew and didn't. She eyed them all and as Matthew inched closer to her she pull off her surgical mask and grabbed Matthew by the arm.

"What did you do?!" she shouted her anger flaring up at seeing her other son looking beaten and ragged.

"M-Mom, I-I—"

Matthew couldn't process a thing as he was surprised by his mother's appearance. He had hoped that she wouldn't have found out, but he knew that was unlikely.

"Answer me Matthew! _What did you do?_ " she shouted again, but her voice started to waver towards the end.

Matthew felt tears coming to his eyes for the first time that night as his mother stared at him demanding answers. He couldn't bring himself to say anything other than, "I'm sorry."

Lily let out a choked sound and lessened her grip on Matthew to pull him into a tight hug.

"What did you do?" she asked again as she clung to her son.

"I'm sorry," was all he could reply.

 

** :/:/:/:/: **

 

_Long strong arms wrapped around Alfred tightly, never wanting to let go, and persistent lips peppered his neck with kisses. Alfred couldn't help but smile at the affection and tangled his legs with Ivan's. He didn't know how or when they got into his bed but he wouldn't change it for anything. He was enjoying the feeling of Ivan's broad chest against his back as they laid under the covers._

_"Do you love me?" Ivan whispered softly into Alfred's ear._

_Alfred felt his peace falter at the question and Ivan asked it again._

_"Do you love me?"_

_Alfred's heart was pounding in his chest at the question and his face started to heat up. Even though he wasn't facing Ivan he could feel his questioning eyes burning into him._

_"Do you love me?"_

_"Do you love me?"_

_"Do you love me?"_

_"Do you lo—"_

_"Ye—"_

"—fred? Alfred?"

Alfred snapped his eyes open then cringed at the bright light surrounding him. The sound of something beeping quickly made him groan as it started to give him a headache.

"You okay?" asked a worried voice.

"Mattie?" he asked hoarsely, and slowly moved to see a blurry form that was his twin. The constant beeping slowed tremendously, which put Alfred more at ease.

"Yeah. Here, you'll need these."

Before Alfred could ask, a pair of glasses was put into his hand and he went about putting them on. His arms ached as he slipped them on and his nose felt tender when the weight of the glasses fell upon it. Once his vision came into focus he was surprised at what was around him. Flowers, balloons, and stuffed animals covered every available surface in the room. IVs, machinery, and monitors crowded around him as well, which explained the constant, but now slow, beeping. To the side of his bed was a tired and bruised Matthew, who had a surprisingly fresh looking handprint on his cheek, and at the foot of his bed was an equally ragged, but sleeping, Ivan.

"Alfred," said Matthew softly. "Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

Alfred looked away from Ivan to his brother then back to Ivan. The Russian had a black eye and bandaged hands, nose, and forehead, which peeked out from under his hair. Alfred let out a sigh as he looked down at his own hands and nodded his head.

"Yeah. You walked in on me and Ivan then shot me for being wi—"

"Al, stop," Matthew laughed out as he nudged his brother's bandaged arm.

Alfred cracked a smile and laughed along with his brother but then calmed down.

"Honestly, I do remember, but it's still…" He paused as he started to move his hands under his blankets. "It's still… weird ya know?"

"I wouldn't know," Matthew replied cheekily.

"Shut up, maybe I should shoot _you_. We can have matching bullet scars," Alfred said. Matthew just cracked a laugh, and Alfred stuck out his tongue as he started to absentmindedly toy with his hospital gown. "But really though, I never thought I'd get shot," he admitted as he lifted the long garment and finally saw a large bandage and gauze wrapped around his chest. Blood was seeping through, tinging the white material pink.

"Well, you never counted on protecting Ivan," Matthew said as he looked at the patched up wound.

Alfred gave a hum to this and touched the bandages for a second, then dropped his gown back into place.

"True, but Ivan is _mine_ to kill—no one else's," he said matter-of-factly.

Matthew smirked at hearing this and went to correct Alfred that kill wasn't the word he should use, but another voice cut in.

"Possessive much?"

Alfred instantly honed in the voice and saw Ivan half-awake with his cheek in his hand. The Russian smiled softly then blinked before letting out a yawn. Matthew eyed his brother, who was watching Ivan intently. He then stood up from his seat as the heart monitor started to quicken again, which got Alfred's attention.

"Where you going?" he asked as Matthew stretched out his back then relaxed.

"Going to get something to drink. I'll be back," he said simply, and as he left the room he added: "You two play nice."

And with that, Matthew was gone, leaving a now fully awake Ivan and a slightly nervous Alfred alone in the room. An uncomfortable silence settled over them as neither of them spoke. Alfred honestly didn't know why it felt so awkward, well, he kind of did. He remembered what had happened to him, what he did for Ivan, and what he wanted to say to the Russian. Though the last part, he was 45% sure it was a dream, a really lucid dream since he hadn't said the Ivan's nickname in years, and had almost said the L word. Adding on to the fact that his heat monitor was becoming a headache again just made him feel embarrassed. He wished that he could shut the thing off.

"Alfred?"

The blonde looked up from the bedding he was absentmindedly plucking at to see Ivan still seated in the chair ahead of him. He had a contemplative look on his beaten face.

"Yeah?"

"Do—do you remember what…" Ivan trailed off as his words seem to fail him.

The beeping of the monitor made Ivan feel more nervous than he already was. He wanted to ask Alfred about last night, why he saved him from being shot, but most of all what he was going to say as he bled out in Matthew's arms. Even with everything they had been through up to this point, everything they had said, Ivan knew that Alfred liked him in some way and he did the same, even if it was extremely vague.

"If you mean about last night," Alfred started, getting Ivan's attention instantly, "then yeah. I do." Alfred felt his face heat up as he said this and his monitor kept its quick pace. "I mean, who wouldn't you know?" Alfred said with a nervous laugh. "It was crazy, I took a bullet for your dumbass and then somehow I'm not under arrest, or you, or Mattie, or—"

"Alfred," Ivan cut in.

The blonde felt a lump form in his throat as he realized that Ivan had moved from his chair. He had he had been caught rambling, and Ivan had put an end to it just by getting closer to him. Ivan looked down at Alfred and placed his bandaged hand over Alfred's own.

"Iva—"

Alfred fell silent as Ivan squeezed his hand gently then moved to sit in the seat Mattie had been in. The persistent beeping seemed to mellow out at that moment.

"Alfred, I, I know it was…intense yesterday, but everything's okay. You're okay. I…" Ivan kept his eyes downcast and Alfred just stayed silent. "I thought I lost you."

Alfred felt his heart skip a beat at hearing this and the monitor confirmed it, and he couldn't stop himself from asking:

"Were you… scared?"

Ivan didn't say anything as he felt his chest aching, but that was all Alfred needed.

"I wanted to kill Carlos, but you stopped me… You should have let me do it," Ivan said firmly as he felt his anger from the night before coming over him.

Alfred swallowed the lump in his throat and squeezed Ivan's hand again.

"If you had, you'd be in jail or dead right now. I didn't want that," Alfred admitted as his monitor couldn't decide whether to speed up or even out.

Ivan had a faint smile come to his face as he listened to the monitor. He felt slightly at ease knowing Alfred wasn't as calm as he tried to be. That he wasn't the only one feeling anxious.

"You called me, Vanya," Ivan said with a shaky breath as he looked at Alfred.

"I… I know… I thought I was dying so—so I wanted to tell you that I—"

The words that Alfred wanted to say where harder to say than he originally thought. It seemed much easier when the threat of death hanged over him the night before, but this time, that was not the case. They seemed to be stuck in his throat, and the persistent beeping made Alfred give up as his face burned a shade of red.

"Fuck me," he groaned out as he buried his face into his hands.

Ivan just stared at Alfred knowing exactly how the other felt. The Russian himself was experiencing his emotional 10 car, semi, and derailed train pile up at that very moment. He had been a wreck ever since Alfred got shot and he had tried to hide it, but he was failing. Seeing Alfred alive, talking, and blushing made him feel so relieved but oh so guilty. If he hadn't picked a fight with Carlos that day they wouldn't be here suffocating on embarrassment and awkwardness. Hell, if he hadn't treated Alfred like he did in the closet they wouldn't be here. It was his fault for causing Alfred such pain, for nearly taking his life second handedly. He felt like the scum of the earth and he wanted to apologize, he wanted to admit to everything he covered up with vague words, wanted to hold him, to kiss him.

Ivan looked at Alfred nervously, then down his empty hand then back up. He felt his chest aching even more as he heard Alfred curse his heart monitor and wonder how much longer Mattie would be. A feeling of irritation, or perhaps even jealousy, stabbed through Ivan at hearing this and he found himself moving to grab at Alfred's hands gently, mindful of the IV. He uncovered Alfred's pink face and held his hands in his own as he got up from his chair. Alfred instantly knew what was going on by the look on Ivan's face. He'd seen that expression twice already, but this time he had nowhere to go. He was stuck in a bed and not a closet or empty classroom, though oddly enough, he didn't want to back away. His eyes started to close of their own volition as Ivan got closer and closer. All he could focus on was the pale pink lips leaning towards him and how quiet it suddenly got.

Alfred's breath hitched as their lips brushed each other.

"Vanya," Alfred said without thinking. His voice soft and the name rolling off his tongue as if it was a secret.

Ivan swallowed thickly at hearing it then moved forward to close the gap. Alfred gasped from the contact, and instinctively tightened his grip on Ivan's hands to keep him close. The kiss was just a simple press of lips, but after a few seconds Alfred made the first move. He took lead of the kiss shakily at first, but once Ivan started to kiss back, after realizing that he was in fact kissing Alfred—that this wasn't a teasing dream—he took over.

He kissed Alfred as hungrily as he had in his dreams and Alfred didn't seemed fazed by it one bit. Alfred pulled his hands free to cling to Ivan's clothes and Ivan moved his own to wrap around Alfred as best he could. He was practically on the bed by this point as they kissed each other. Pressing against each other as much as they could as they kissed. Alfred felt like he could die happy right there at finally getting the kiss. He never thought it'd taste so good, and Ivan felt the same.

The need for air was already making a nuisance of itself, and they ended up breaking away. Their foreheads rested against each other's as they panted, but soon Ivan seized up as he noticed Alfred's chest. Blood was soaking through Alfred's gown and some of it was on his own shirt.

"Ah man, I never felt dizzy from a kiss," he huffed out as he tried to calm his racing heart.

Ivan felt himself panicking internally and looked around for the call button. Once he found the remote he smashed down on the button with more force than necessary as he quickly got off the bed.

"What are you doing?" Alfred asked confused as Ivan held down on the button.

"You're bleeding, but it will be okay, just relax," Ivan said in what he hoped was a calm voice.

Alfred furrowed his brow then looked down as he noticed the blood soaked into the gown.

"Well, shit."

The instant the words left his mouth Alfred's door came bursting open and Ivan finally let go of the nurse button. The woman that rushed in was not who Alfred expected at all.

"Mom?"

Lily stared at her son with wild eyes that quickly calmed down upon seeing the issue at hand. She didn't say a word to Alfred as she moved to his bedside and started to pull off his gown. Any happy feelings Alfred had left from the kiss was completely wiped out from his mother's silence. He stayed silent himself and moved his body as she wished as she checked his stitches above his heart. Once she cleaned him up and put on new bandages, she looked at the monitors. She could see the cause of sudden rush of blood displayed by the monitors then looked over to Ivan who had fresh blood smeared on his shirt. Ivan just kept his cool façade, but inside he was already feeling guilty.

Lily stared at Ivan for a second longer, then looked back to Alfred who gave a sheepish smile. The instant the smile came to his face Lily smacked it right off. Alfred's head jerked to the side, his blue eyes wide with surprise. He felt tears prick his eyes as the sting started to set in. He didn't dare to move, though he cringed slightly as he heard his mother's voice.

"Alfred Fredrick Jones. You have put me through hell in these past few hours and I've had enough of it. How dare you do something so stupid," Lily said, her voice harsh from anger and stress. "How dare you make… make me—Oh gawd, Alfred!"

Alfred peeked up at his mother to see her starting to cry then moving forwards him to hug him tightly.

"I was on my lunch break and I get the called for surgery for a kid and—Jesus," she said through hiccups and sobs. "You're fuckin' grounded for life. Don't _ever_ do that again," she stated and began to kiss Alfred's face, more specifically, the area she slapped.

Alfred was completely stunned. He looked over to Ivan still standing against the wall with the remote in his hand. They locked eyes for a second, then Alfred looked to the side to see Matthew in the little entryway of the room. He realized then where the handprint on Mattie's face came from, and he looked away as he felt his tears really coming forth. He reached up to dig his fingers into his mother's back and buried his face into the crook of her neck.

"I'm sorry."

"Ya bet yer ass you are," Lily said through a sniffle then pulled back to touch Alfred's face.

Her handprint was fresh mark among many on his bandaged face, but she didn't feel too bad about it.

"You always gotta be the big hero," she said in an annoyed tone though it held no bite.

"Yeah…" was all Alfred could say, and Lily just sighed and let go of her son.

"I'm not done, with you yet, but I need to get the doctor," she said as she straightened up then turned to leave but stopped and looked pointedly at Alfred then Ivan and back. "You two keep your hands to yourself. You'll bleed again if you're heart rate goes up like that," she informed and gave an amused smile as Alfred turned bright red.

She then went out of the room, patting Matthew's shoulder as she passed him. Once she was gone Alfred looked to his twin and asked, "Did you tell her?"

Matthew gave a sheepish grin that gave Alfred all he needed to know and he sighed deeply before laying back on his bed. He then looked over to his brother then past him to Ivan who was still pressed against the far wall.

"Are you gonna stand there the whole time Vanya?" he asked.

Ivan shook his head once he realized Alfred was talking to him then moved to sit in his chair. Matthew had a smirk come to his lips as he realized what was going.

"You guys dating now?" he asked as he looked between Ivan and Alfred.

The two in question looked at each other with uncertainty while Alfred's heart monitor speed up.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Alfred felt his face heat up and then punched Matthew in the arm gently.

"Shut up okay. We're… figuring it out… More importantly, where the hell is everyone? In jail?" Alfred asked wanting to change the subject.

"Oh, right," Matthew started, "About that—"

"I took care of it," Ivan cut in. Alfred eyed him curiously as he went on to clarify. "I told my father about it and he got the cops to let us go."

"No way," Alfred said as he looked at Ivan, then his brother, disbelieving. "There were guns and blood and everything! They couldn't have overlooked that!"

Matthew gave a nod as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's true, Al. The only ones that got arrested was Carlos and his friends. He crashed his car into a pole trying to run."

"Yes, and my father was willing to overlook us in favor of the Green Rock Gang," Ivan added.

Alfred stared at the two amazed, and could only guess that his friends were at their homes playing off their night of fighting like usual. He smiled at the thought and relaxed into his bed.

"Wow...so we're not in trouble," Alfred said amazed.

"No, both of you are in deep trouble," corrected Lily as she came into the room with a doctor close behind her.

Alfred and Matthew instantly flinched at hearing their mother's voice. As the doctor took his place by Alfred to examine his stitches, Lily stared at her sons, then felt no regret as she began to scold them both. Ivan slowly inched away from his chair as Lily started listing all the punishments she would unleash onto the twins. He knew for fact he'd be getting the same from his own father once he saw his face again, which made him decided to deal with it while Aleksis was still pleased with the Green Rock arrests.

As he made his way out of the room he looked back one last time at Alfred. The honey blonde was just nodding his head and smiling sheepishly to every word his mother said. He was nearly out of sight when the two locked eyes on each other. Ivan could tell a lot from that simple glance and smiled softly before leaving Alfred's sight. He walked to the elevators thinking about how much had changed and would be changing from here on out, and it kept him smiling as left the hospital.

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**Man this took forever to write! Ugh well, there's 3 chapters left maybe 4...maybe... Anywho, hoped you liked it and sorry if this is one isn't as great :T I've been... unfocused and just feeling...not myself lately so I'mma clean this up at a later date if I dont forget :T**

 


	15. Blood Street 13

  **Oh God here we go ;7;/ Sorry that this is late but I've been struggling with this chapter and I also got myself a job so the "update every Saturday" thing is not gonna work anymore yall sorry. Welp enjoy *frantically runs away*  
**

 

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**Blood Street 13**

A hospital at night was surreal and horrifying. Everything was cast in darkness save for the dim light spilling in from the closed door and the window. The machines beeped softly, the shuffling of nurses, and the creaking of pushed wheelchairs and carts filtered in over the almost uproarious a/c. It made one feel on edge, as if at any moment a machine would fail, a stitch would burst, a ghost of a former patient would appear, just something to break the tension. What was most unsettling was no matter what or who came through, a scent never seemed to stay. All of this irked Alfred, or perhaps it wasn't the hospital itself, but how he got there. That was what made everything seem so harsh, like a red mark in a black and white room.

Alfred sat up in his bed wide awake, having woken up with a start from a dream he couldn't remember. He stared at his enemy seated before him, sleeping a bit restlessly. He couldn't help but look at him, he was an enemy that he had had taken a bullet for. Ivan was an enemy that had gotten under Alfred's skin, into his head, and into his heart.

Alfred sighed as he thought about this and leaned back in his bed, but still looked at Ivan. Ever since Alfred had been in that bed Ivan had always been in the chair ahead of him. Alfred had never been truly left alone in his room. He had been in that bed for nearly a week and not once had Ivan left him for too long, and always stayed overnight. Alfred had asked him why that was, and Ivan had simply said he had been kicked out of his house again. Of course when he had said that Alfred's mother had been present, thus if there was ever another reason why, it never came up.

Alfred let out a yawn as he thought about that afternoon then looked out his window. He only had a few more days of that view before he was set free to go home and to school. The thought of school wasn't all that appealing to him at the moment. There was only a few weeks left in the school year, and he didn't know what he'd do with himself once it was over. He didn't know what would happen to himself or Ivan over that summer. Would they stay in touch? Meet each other as friends? Meet each other as boyfriends? It was all still a foggy mess like everything that was between them. Nothing ever seemed to be clear as glass.

"Fredya?"

Alfred felt his body tense at hearing that name called so tiredly.

"Alfred?" Ivan asked again.

Alfred turned his head from the window to look at Ivan stifling a yawn then looking at him curiously.

"Can't sleep?" Ivan asked.

Alfred felt himself relax as he gave a nod.

"Yeah… You too?"

"Da, it will be some time before I can try sleeping again," Ivan said offhandedly as he let out a sigh and blinked tiredly.

Alfred gave a hum to this, then absentmindedly raised his hand to his chest. He touched the wound hidden beneath thin material and thick bandages. Ivan watched Alfred critically and soon caught Alfred's eye, but neither said anything. Ivan felt like Alfred had something say, but wasn't ready to say it, or didn't know how to. The silence between them was deafening and Ivan went to correct this, but at the same time Alfred also went to speak. They managed to get the first word out before stopping and looking at each other awkwardly.

"Go ahead, Alfred," Ivan said as he tugged at his scarf.

"No, it's fine," Alfred replied.

"Alfred."

Alfred looked away from Ivan to stare at his bedding then back up as he tried to relax.

"Uh, I just…wanted to know… What are we doing?" Alfred said finally, the last part coming out in a rushed voice. He treated the question like ripping off a bandaid.

Ivan stared at Alfred blankly then in confusion as he tried to process the question.

"'What are we doing?'" Ivan repeated.

"Yeah, I mean… Before you wouldn't so much as consider sitting in the same room with me, and now…"

Alfred began to dig his fingers into his blankets and sheets trying to stay calm, but his heart monitor betrayed him. Its quick beating filled the room and Ivan just tugged on his scarf as he realized what Alfred was getting at.

"I… I don't know," Ivan said and Alfred's heart monitor quickened. "I don't hate you like I used to and ever since the closet I've just… You've been in my head since then. When you got in front of Carlos I was afraid, afraid that I'd lose you."

"I am yours to kill," Alfred assured, but Ivan shook his head.

"I don't want to kill you. Even if you are annoying," Ivan said softly and got up from his chair.

Alfred felt his face growing hot from what Ivan had said, and his nervous heart pumped faster as the Russian got closer. He was honestly amazed by what Ivan had said and watched him curiously as he sat down on Alfred's bed.

"Ivan…I don't want to kill you either," Alfred said nervously. He felt as if he had just declared his love.

"I know, Fredya," Ivan said softly then moved to kiss Alfred.

The blonde found himself kissing back chastely but eagerly, which made Ivan kiss him more roughly. Alfred felt like he was drowning once again in Ivan's kiss and moved to hold onto the Russian's arms. The kiss didn't last long, however, but Alfred didn't complain. When they pulled apart Ivan took Alfred's hand in his own and squeezed it.

"Vanya, are we... together?" Alfred asked in a near whisper.

"If… If you want to be," Ivan said, and he hoped to god that Alfred would say yes.

"I do."

Ivan smiled at hearing this and moved to kiss Alfred once more.

"Oh," Alfred said suddenly, then pulled back, breaking the kiss, to look at Ivan. "What was it you was gonna say?" he asked.

Ivan thought back on the question then remembered what he had been meaning to say. It had been the cause of his unsettling sleep since Alfred was put into the hospital. The guilt that had been gnawing on him even before the shooting, back to the closet where he left Alfred crying. He wanted to apologize again, over and over, but at this moment, he felt like he couldn't.

' _Everything is finally working out. If I tried to apologize Alfred wouldn't want to be with me… Who would want to be with someone after putting them through so much?'_

Ivan lowered his head into his scarf as he thought about this. Alfred looked confused at how Ivan seemed to retreat into himself.

"Vanya…?"

Alfred waved a hand in front of Ivan as he said his name once more.

"Oh, sorry," Ivan said quickly as he came out of his thoughts and looked at Alfred once more.

"You okay?"

Ivan hesitated for a moment before blurting out: "Da—Yes, yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking that we never went on our date. That's what I was going to say before."

Alfred looked at Ivan curiously, but then smiled and laughed lightly.

"A date huh? Carlos did crash it, but I think we can do something."

Ivan gave hum to this as he felt relief washing over him.

"Would the movies be okay?" he asked hopeful.

Alfred had a brilliant smile come to his face at the question.

"Yeah."

Ivan smiled softly and moved forward to kiss Alfred once more. He easily lost himself in the kiss, wanting to bury his guilt for another day. This resulted in him kissing Alfred hungrily, moving further up on the bed to ease Alfred into laying back. He slipped his tongue into Alfred's mouth and felt Alfred cling to him as he mimicked the action. Ivan wanted nothing more than to act out his dreams right then and there. Alfred himself was eagerly wanting more, but both stopped as they heard the door opening. Even though Alfred's heart monitor was rapidly beeping they could hear the door to the room opening and a call of Alfred's name. Ivan quickly let go of Alfred and only managed to ease himself into the chair by the bed before a nurse appeared.

The nurse wasn't Alfred's mother, but a man with black hair and brown skin. He quickly moved to Alfred, and Ivan slipped out of the way as the man started to ask questions and looked at the heart monitor. When the man was looking at the monitor Alfred's face was as red as a cherry as he held up the remote that had the nurse call button. Ivan noticed it and realized that he must have pressed on it when he had gotten further into the bed. The two then sat awkwardly quiet in the room until the nurse left after finding nothing wrong. Once he had left Alfred started to laugh and it didn't take much for Ivan to join in.

** :/:/:/:/: **

When a noon rolled around Ivan and Alfred had only been awake for a couple of hours. They had just finished of their brunch when the two received visitors.

"Hey, Alfred you doing okay?" Arthur asked as he walked into the room first.

"Hey, Arthur. Hey you guys," Alfred greeted as his friends poured in, and right behind them was Ivan's own gang.

"Hi Ivan you look be—"

"Like, you're still here?" Feliks asked cutting off Toris and staring at his boss.

Ivan eyed Feliks as he looked up from his phone and Toris just nudge him in the ribs.

"Hey, he does have a point Alfred," Francis said as he eyed the two teens who sat on the bed.

Ivan became extremely self-conscious of himself and moved to get off the edge of the bed. Everyone eyed him as he stood up and Matthew only smirked.

"Ay, shut the hell up okay!" declared Alfred wanting to change the subject. "Now you got new homework for me or what?" he asked.

The teens in the room gave up on the conversation, either rolling their eyes, shrugging, or looking away, as Kiku stepped up to answer Alfred's question.

"Yes, it's mostly review packets now since the year is ending," he said as he dug the assignments out of his backpack and handed them over.

"Ah, great. A guy gets shot and teachers still don't lighten up on the work," Alfred whined.

"Don't worry, they fear you and Ivan more than ever after that fight with Carlos," Kyle said offhandedly.

Ivan arched a brow at this then looked to his own gang for confirmation.

"It's true. It seems the news has made even the more resilient teachers back down a bit with us," Toris explained.

"That's so cool!" Alfred said with a smile plastered onto his face. "I actually didn't want to go to school, but if Ms. Bitchstaves has really backed off, class is going to be fun for once!"

"Oh and it was never fun when I was there?" Ivan asked as he arched a pale eyebrow at Alfred.

The honey blonde blushed slightly then tried to play it off as anger.

"Stay over there Ivan!" Alfred said as he gave a weak glare.

"I am. It's you who has butted into my conversation," Ivan retorted.

"You know what else I'mma "butt" into, and let me tell ya, it's not your itty bitty dick!" Alfred said cockily.

"You really want to go down this road Fredya? With the circumstances I believe I can show it to you," Ivan said with smirk.

"Showing me your micropenis isn't going to get you any further into my pants big guy."

"You never made me want to."

This sentence was enough to drag out a "WHAT?!" from Gilbert as he looked at the two. Matthew was grinning from ear to ear and Francis was eyeing them knowingly. Alfred and Ivan both looked at their group of friends confused for a moment, but then started to feel anxious as more of their friends wore knowing looks.

"So like, are we teaming up with them now?" Feliks asked bluntly.

"Feliks!" Toris hissed.

"What? They are totally dating now!" Feliks defended.

"My God, you really are aren't you?" Arthur asked as he stared at Alfred.

Ivan and Alfred went from staring blankly at their gang, to each other, then back at their gang.

"Ivan," Alfred said then pulled Ivan down to his bed to whisper to him. "Are you sure about this? I mean, I know my gang can keep a secret but can yours?"

This made Ivan pause for a moment and he scanned over his gang critically.

"They can."

Alfred paused to think it over, but then gave a nod and let Ivan go.

"Alfred and I are dating," Ivan said simply and Gilbert instantly turned to Sadiq and Kyle and demanded money.

Francis gave a smug smile and moved over to Gilbert to get his cut from his from his friend. Arthur, Anica, and Toris were stunned, Kiku was acceptingly silent, Feliks just waited for his question to be answered, and Matthew and Eliza smiled knowingly.

"Did you assholes bet on us?!" Alfred asked as he watched Gilbert, Francis, Kyle, and Sadiq.

"Alfred it's been painfully obvious as of late about you two," Francis said. "It was only a matter of time, no?"

"Fuckers," Alfred growled, though he wasn't the slightest bit mad. He then looked up to Ivan, who stood at his side and smiled at him.

"Ivan, like, are you going to answer my question or what?" Feliks asked. He was never one to really care for Ivan—sure he was afraid of him, but only _slightly_.

"Are we merging with them?"

"I don't know," Ivan said with a sigh then looked to Alfred. "Do you want to?"

Alfred looked at him like a deer in headlights, never once having thought of their gangs combining.

"U-Uh…I—"

"If we do combine we'd kick Green Rocks ass so quick," Gilbert cut in.

"But we gotta have a name first," Kyle said.

"General Heroes?" Matthew suggested and Alfred looked at him with a look of betrayal.

" _If_ we're doing this, then Heroes are first!" Alfred huffed. "Like, Heroes General!"

Ivan gave a hum to this then shook his head in disagreement.

"Nyet, Winter Heroes," Ivan suggested, and Alfred craned his neck to look up at Ivan dramatically.

"No, Heroes Winter!"

"Winter's Heroes?"

"Good God, Vanya, I will slap you with this IV! Heroes go first!"

Ivan gave a "try it if you dare" look and smiled childishly.

"I disagree lapushka!"

"What you call me?!"

This fight went on throughout the room as the gangs tried to settle on a name of a group that they wasn't even sure would be forming. Matthew let out a sigh as he watched his brother and Ivan bicker. He was happy to see them together, but he still didn't fully trust Ivan. Although he was more than happy to see Alfred back to his old self.

"Good to see y'all are still the same."

No one heard this comment over the fighting and Matthew just rolled his eyes. He shook his head as he turned to leave just as a few nurses came running in to try and calm everyone down.

  


* * *

**Translations:**

lapushka - sweetheart

***[Nervous laughter] Well hope you liked it ;^J^ See yall next time. Only 3 chps left officially!***

**XX**

***Also, I've mentioned before about retiring due to about of chaotic crap that would be going down, welp change of plans! I'm not retiring...yet, becuz I'm going through that chaotic crap right now and Blood Street isn't completed yet! So I'mma still be around, awful isn't :D**


	16. Blood Street 14

**Blood Street 14**

When Alfred woke up from the sunlight pouring into his room he had a startling realization that he wasn't in his hospital room. He looked around the room owlishly for a few seconds until he realized that the hazy blobs around him were familiar.

"Oh, right… I'm back."

He let out a sigh as he went to roll over in his bed, but stopped abruptly as he moved his arm the wrong way. A flare of pain running through his bandaged arm and his chest where it dug into his stitched wound.

"Fuck!" he hissed through clenched teeth as he righted himself then sat up in annoyance.

He shoved his blankets off and grabbed his glasses from his nightstand and glared down at his chest. The gunshot wound was now hidden behind his favorite Taz shirt and a thin bandage. He moved his hand up to touch it, but was halted when his alarm clock went off. The shrill beeping made him jump, his heart racing in surprise, before he finally calmed down enough to shut it off. The silence that followed didn't last more than a minute as doors were opened and a blonde head popped up from the bathroom.

"Hey, you are alive," Matthew said as he noticed his brother awake and sitting up.

"Tragically, yes," Alfred replied with a weak smile coming to his face.

Matthew just rolled his eyes and moved out from behind the door.

"Well, get your ass up. We got school and mom is driving us to make sure your… delicate self, makes it on time," he finished in a (purposefully) annoyingly cutesy voice.

Alfred just let out a snort, but nodded his head.

"Whatever you say, but since I'm so 'delicate', you gonna help me take a shower?" he asked as he wiggled his eyebrows at Matthew suggestively, drawing a laugh out of his twin.

Matthew shook his head in a foreshame manner, then moved away to go back to his room. Alfred pouted as he was rejected for a few seconds before wiping it off his face to smile softly. He sighed then went about getting out of bed and stretching his still sore body. He had mostly recovered from everything in the hospital, but he still ached and was covered in bruises and a few scabs. Once he felt his joints release their stiffness and tension, he started to get ready for school.

It took him a little longer than usual to get ready, having to take so many pills, which was a pain. However, it was only a short time frame from a quiet breakfast, to the car, and to school. Once he was dropped off with his brother he was eagerly greeted by his friends.

"And the valiant hero has returned!" Kyle greeted with a grin on his face.

Alfred smiled brightly and took a short bow as he said:

"Thank you, thank you."

"More like valiant idiot," Arthur huffed with arms crossed over his chest as Alfred straightened up.

Matthew couldn't help but laugh a little at that, which got him a nudge in the ribs from Alfred's elbow. Alfred opened his mouth to defend himself, but Francis did it for him, though not the way he wanted.

"He is a valiant hero mon amour," Francis declared as he snuck an arm around Arthur's waist. "He protected love. A love of such strength and passion that has festered for years and finally bloss—Hrk!"

Francis was cut off as Arthur punched him in the stomach. The French teen quickly let go of the Brit to squat down and hold his stomach.

"You are so irritating," Arthur said bitterly as he looked away from Francis.

He looked over to Alfred who was red in the face, but not from angry. A silent thank you was written on his face, but Arthur said nothing of it, instead he mentioned that they needed to get inside. Alfred agreed and took the lead, and upon walking in he found every pair of eyes on him. He was quickly swarmed by most of the students that roamed the halls and some even had gifts for him. But the one thing they all had was questions.

"Did you really get shot?"

"Did you really take a bullet for Braginsky?"

"Can I see your wound?"

"Are you really teaming up with that creep?"

"Are you really the Heroes of Winter now?"

"Did Ivan really kill Carlos for you?"

Alfred felt his head spinning from all the questions and random touches that brushed him as more kids crowded him. He was used to people coming up to him, but not like this. However, his discomfort didn't last too long because everyone quickly fell silent and backed away to a more respectable distance. Alfred didn't know why until he felt two arms wrap around his waist and a chin was placed on his shoulder.

"Good morning moye solnyshko," came a deep and affectionate voice.

Alfred kept his eyes forward as he felt his face catch fire. He didn't know what to say, but the sight of them must have been extremely off putting because the students around them where now parting like the red sea.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alfred finally got out, he was still unsure of what to say since he'd never felt so awkward and embarrassed.

"I am hugging you. You can't be that blind with glasses that thick," Ivan commented offhandedly, which made Alfred feel more relaxed.

Alfred didn't know if Ivan could tell how he felt, but he was thankful for the insult.

"I can see clearly, that you're a fuckin' perv," Alfred retorted, and tried to pull out of Ivan's hold.

The Russian only tightened his grip and Alfred felt his eye twitch.

"I thought you'd be used to another man's body against you by now."

"Well I'm not loose like that, but if I was, your micropenis would do nothing for me. It'd be like getting fucked by air."

Ivan quirked an eyebrow at that and pushed his lower half into Alfred. He didn't care if others saw or not, and turned his head to speak right in Alfred's ear.

"You make jokes about my dick, but I believe you can feel that it is much larger than you think," he said. Alfred in-fact could feel it and though it was limp, it was pretty big, but he wasn't gonna admit that, especially now that his face was back to being as red as a cherry. Ivan could see Alfred's ear truing red and smirked as he made his voice a little louder for others to hear. "Or do you insult my dick because you are trying to compensate for something?"

Alfred gave an offended gasp and moved to get out of Ivan's hold once more. This time Ivan let him go and the blonde whipped around and glared at him.

"Vanya, I have nothing to compensate for, unlike someone who carries around a _long_ and _big_ , pipe around in their clothes."

Ivan smirked at hearing that while Alfred had a grin plastered to his face.

"Well, it's been fun, but it's time for class," Alfred said with a wink.

With that Alfred turned away from Ivan, the blonde's gang easily trailing after him with a victorious air about them. Ivan didn't care in the slightest though, he was much more interested in watching Alfred walk away from him. He hadn't even bothered to follow until Toris snapped him out of his trance.

** :/:/:/:/: **

As the classes moved throughout the day, Alfred had managed to have a pretty decent return back to school. Ivan barely annoyed him, though he still stared at him in every class, which made him feel on edge, but not in a bad way. It was now 7th period, ICP, and Francis had just snuck into the room. Ivan was seated on the left side of the room and Alfred on the right, which was next to Arthur's desk.

The class was currently sitting in the dark watching a movie on basic physics when Francis arrived. He slipped into the back row on Alfred's side and sat right behind Arthur.

"So how are my two favorite people? Although I do like Arthur more than you Alfred, sorry," Francis said in a soft voice, nearly purring the words.

Arthur just rolled his eyes and kept watching the movie, and Alfred only laughed softly.

"Nothing, just dying from this movie," Alfred answered.

"Oh really? I thought it would be from your lover staring at you," Francis pointed out.

Alfred gave a confused look, then looked forward discretely to see Ivan watching him then look away to the projector screen.

"Um…no. He always stares at me so it's whatever," Alfred said nonchalantly, though his face had taken on a shade of pink.

Francis hummed softly at hearing this then put his chin in his hand. He moved his free hand up to place a finger on the back of Arthur's neck then trailed it down his back nonchalantly. Arthur on the other hand tensed and jerked slightly in his desk from the touch, but Francis didn't remove his hand. Arthur stayed silent though he looked ready to punch the other teen in the face.

"So, Alfred," Francis started as he began to move his finger in little circles, "I've been meaning to ask. How did you and Ivan start dating?"

"W-What?" Alfred asked his pink blush still evident on his face.

"Come on, you two have had that movie worthy hospital scene. He visits you constantly and as the days to your release fade away he confesses his love to you and you admit your own," Francis moves his finger from side to side on Arthur's back as he explains, then splays out his hand and moves it forward to grip Arthur's left side. "You embrace in the hospital bed then kiss dramatically!"

Arthur lets out a strange squeak as Francis grips his side at the end of his passionate speech, which gets him yelled at by their teacher. The group of three instantly face forward and stay silent, but Francis keeps his hand on Arthur, only moving it back to middle of Arthur's back. As a few seconds pass and their teacher stops glaring at them, Francis repeats his questions:

"So, did that happen or no?"

"Why do you even need to bloody know frog?" Arthur asked through clenched teeth.

"Because mon cher, amour is my life," Francis said matter-of-factly.

Arthur just huffed and called him nosy and Francis pinched him lightly in retaliation. Arthur jerked from the pinch and grumbled curses about getting even after class.

"So are you going to answer me Alfred?" Francis asked as he brought his attention back to the honey blonde.

"Uh… we just talked and kissed… a little… Then I asked if we were together… So, yeah…" Alfred said with a sheepish look on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Francis looked at Alfred with mild disgust on his face and put a hand to his forehead.

"My God, that is a crime, and not one of passion," he stated in a forlorn voice.

Alfred gave a confused and nervous look as Francis harped on him about the lack of communication of feelings.

"Dude, it's—it's too early for that!" Alfred defended. "I mean…I almost said it…but I thought I was dying…"

Francis only shook his head then reached over to pat Alfred's shoulder.

"It is not too early. Out of all your history he can't say I love you after you risked your life to save him!?"

A part of Alfred disagreed with Francis, but another part, a slightly larger part, was irked by it. They had been friends for years, then ex-friends, then finally enemies for the longest time, and now what were they? Where they boyfriends? Did Ivan really like him? They've known each since middle school, so what was the problem with saying 'I love you'?

' _It's too early, that's the problem!'_ Alfred told himself, trying to ease his nerves. ' _You never say I love you on the first date! Hell, we haven't even been on a date!'_

Though this thought was meant to ease Alfred, the fact they hadn't gone a date yet was not helping.

' _Just stop thinking about it. It'll happen when it does.'_

Alfred let out a sigh and looked at Francis who wasn't paying him any mind now. The Frenchman was resting his chin on Arthur's shoulder and it was obvious what he was doing.

' _Francis just moves quicker than normal so I'm fine. Everything's fine.'_

With this in mind, Alfred pushed his troublesome thoughts to the back of his mind and did his best to get through the day. Everything was fine and he had nothing to be bothered about. That is what he told himself on Monday, but after the day ended, then another passed, and another, Alfred began to think differently. He had tried to ignore the thoughts plaguing his mind and the gnawing questions that Francis had planted, but he found himself wondering more and more— _'Does Ivan love me? Is he just "dating" me out of guilt?'_

The blonde had tried to ignore it, but he found himself thinking about it as the days went by. It seemed pretty reasonable to be dated out of guilt since he was nearly killed, but he wanted to believe otherwise. Thus he decided to prove it by taking notice of every action Ivan ever did to see if he did love him. Alfred thought it would be easy to spot all the affectionate touches and nicknames, and he was right. It was easy to spot how much of a lack there was of them.

It also bothered Alfred on how much he cared to find out about all of this. He was never one to really be bothered by the small stuff, but when it came to Ivan, he felt like he was going crazy. He found himself constantly asking why they didn't hold hands, why Ivan called him strange names, why they hadn't gone a date, why they haven't fought each other, and most importantly why they haven't gone out on the streets as one gang. Sure, the question of love was present, but something about wanting that answer made Alfred feel weird. He knew he loved Ivan, but he didn't have the courage to say it. He had tried, he honestly did, but he would always bail once the words got caught in his throat. He wanted to hear Ivan say it first. He wanted to know what Ivan thought of him.

This want however had been festering in Alfred for nearly a week now. School only had two more weeks left and as he and Ivan wandered through the halls he had a realization.

' _Ivan would never say it first.'_

"Fredya? Are you okay?"

Alfred focused on the figure in front of him. Ivan had managed to get ahead of him while he had been occupied with his thoughts.

"You stopped walking so I thought something was wrong," Ivan said as he started to walk back to Alfred.

' _There is something wrong,'_ Alfred thought as he felt a sudden stab of anger.

"I'm okay. It's nothing," he said with a fake smile on his face.

Ivan could tell the smile was fake, it didn't settle on Alfred's face like his genuine ones.

"You've been acting weird for a while too…"

Alfred let out a snort before he could catch it, and Ivan raised an eyebrow as he looked at him. Alfred dropped his smile then paused as he seemed to make up his mind. He reached for Ivan's hand with an annoyed look on his face and started to walk off for the stairs.

"Come on, we're going to the third floor."

Ivan didn't pull away or disagree—only curious as to what was going on. Ivan knew something had been wrong with Alfred for a while, but every time he asked about it Alfred would also deny it. He had been annoyed with the denial, but now it seemed like he'd finally get a straight answer. Thus when he was shoved into the cooking room now covered in more dust—he waited silently for Alfred to explain himself.

"We're dating right?" Alfred suddenly asked.

The question caught Ivan off guard and all he could do in response was look confused and give a slow yes.

"Are we?" Alfred asked again.

"Yes," Ivan repeated, this time more quickly and certain.

Alfred nodded his head then ran a hand through his hair as he leaned against a cook-top table.

"So if we are dating then why haven't we done anything?"

"Do you mean…sex?" Ivan asked as he watched Alfred carefully.

Alfred felt his face heat up at hearing this and it took all his will power to keep his anger in place.

"N-No, not that! Dates, kissing, holding hands… just normal shit that proves— Just… God Ivan…"

Alfred trailed off as he tried to think of what to say, how to word his dilemma. Ivan just stood before him feeling inadequate. He didn't know what to do or what Alfred was wanting of him. He honestly thought it had been about sex at first, but apparently that was not the case.

"Alfred, what are you tal—"

"I'm talking about us?! Or whatever… I don't even know if there is an "us"… It's not like we do anything ya know. We're just the same as always," Alfred snapped then gave an exasperated sigh and looked away from Ivan. "Fuck Francis and his love bullshit," Alfred mumbled under his breath.

Ivan could barely make it out, only catching "Francis" and "love". He felt like he understood what Alfred was getting at at that moment.

"But we are together, we can do things together, but you are still healing," Ivan said only addressing part of the issue.

Alfred just sighed and went to ask why that mattered, but at that moment a giggle filtered into the room. The two gang leaders instantly froze and whipped their heads to the door to see what the cause of the laughter was. They didn't have to wait long to see a girl with curly brown hair rushing into the room as another with blonde hair came rushing after her. The two seemed oblivious to the teens as the laughing girl was tackled and then promptly kissed by the girl that had chased her. Their kiss however was short lived as Alfred gave an irritated huff and glared pointedly at the two flaunting what he wanted.

"O-Oh shit," said the girl with curly hair.

The blonde one looked confused as she looked over her shoulder and froze as she saw Alfred and Ivan. Alfred kept his glare on them then looked to Ivan.

"Fuck it. I'm going to class."

With that Alfred turned and left; glaring at the floor all the way out of the room. Ivan just watched him go then felt something in him break. A wave of sadness, confusion, and anger crashed into him and he felt like complete shit. He slammed his fist down on a dusty counter top before storming out of the room. He didn't pay any mind to the girls that had flinched at his anger, only set on going for a walk to clear his head.

He didn't understand what was going. He thought they were fine, they had been like they always had, which was a good thing, right? Sure he touched Alfred more often, but it wasn't anything extremely affectionate, which he knew. He thought it would be best to keep to himself still since he wasn't sure if Alfred wanted other people to know they were together.

"What is his problem?" Ivan grumbled to himself as he walked down to the second floor.

He fumed over Alfred's words, but as he completed his fifth lap of the second floor and was now going down to the first it hit him. It hit him hard like a gold brick with a knife attached to it.

' _He wants me to tell him I love him.'_

Ivan felt like an ass after realizing this and slapped a hand to his forehead then ran it through his hair. All this time Alfred just wanted him to say that four letter word, to act like a real boyfriend, and so on. That was all and knowing this… Ivan knew he wouldn't be able to do it. He felt even worse as he realized that he had been avoiding that four letter word. He just didn't feel good enough, worthy enough, to say he loved Alfred to his face. He knew Alfred should be with someone better, but at the same time, he couldn't and wouldn't allow someone else to get to Alfred. Alfred was his and he was Alfred's, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

He had caused Alfred so much pain, and nearly killed him, albeit second handedly, but he still felt horrible about it. He knew if he had just done things differently back at the closest he wouldn't be here internally damning himself to the lowest level of hell. Ivan wanted to confess, but he couldn't just say it like Alfred wanted him to. He needed a right time, a right moment, where he felt like he could be good enough. With this goal in mind he came up with an idea.

' _Once Alfred has his stitches removed, we'll go on the date.'_

* * *

**Translations:**

Mon/ amour – my/ love

Moye solnyshko – my sunshine

mon cher – my dear

***FUCKIN FINALLY ITS UP! IM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! TTJTT I knew it was gonna take some time to write since I now have a job, and moving, and just *screeches into the abyss* ;7; Well I hope you guys liked it. There's only two chapters left and they're going to be easier to write so I hope to get them done together and post it soon!*Reviews Welcomed!***

**X X X**

***Also not retiring after all cuz off Blood Street being unfinished and all the crap I would have done during retirement is happening now. So, Imma still be around tragically ^J^**


	17. Blood Street 15

**HERE IT FINALLY IS! THE LAST CHAPTER! I'm deeply sorry this took forever to make because of work and other crap, and I'm sorry that it's so long TTJTT Anywho, enjoy!**

* * *

**Blood Street 15**

Alfred was in bed, lying on his stomach with his face buried in his pillow. He struggled to breath properly, but he didn't care; he was focused on other things—Ivan, specifically. The thought of Ivan alone was enough to make Alfred want to punch a wall. The Russian seemed to be withdrawn as of late, and Alfred knew it was because of him.

Their little fight had only been three days ago, and Ivan seemed to be elsewhere, both mentally and physically. If the teen wasn't off doing something then he'd be by Alfred's side, but even then he always seemed distracted. Alfred didn't know what was going on with him. He'd tried asking once or twice, but Ivan insisted it was nothing. Aside from that, they did text each other, having braved the awkward exchange of numbers a few days prior, but it could hardly be called communication—after all, a few lines of text was not a conversation. Ivan's lack of attentiveness was really starting to get under his skin, and as much as he'd love to deck Ivan in the face and maybe make him lose a tooth, he kept the urge at bay. There was a reason for Ivan acting like this, and Alfred wanted to find out what it was—but impatient as he was, he decided to set a deadline instead.

As he lay in his bed, nearly smothering himself and his anger, he settled his thoughts.

' _If he hasn't come around in a couple days when my stitches come off, I'mma throttle him.'_

Alfred let out a frustrated sigh, but realized doing that was a mistake and jerked his head up from the pillow. He had nearly suffocated himself from the action and panted as he got fresh air. He rolled over onto his back and upon doing so his phone went off. He eagerly fished around in his bedsheets, hoping it would be something from Ivan—but upon unlocking his phone, he was proven wrong. Instead of Ivan's long-awaited response, it was just a text from Matthew.

'Breakfast is ready. Would have yelled for ya but Mom is home.'

Alfred let out a disappointed sigh before scooting off his bed and standing up. He stretched out his back, then winced at the needle of pain that seemed to stab him between his shoulder blades.

"Fuck me," he hissed as he rubbed the sore area. "Can't wait for this shit to be over with."

Alfred grumbled a few more curses as a stiff joint popped painfully as he moved to leave his room. He could already tell it was going to be long day.

On the north side of town, Ivan was feeling the same way. In fact, he'd known it was going to be a long day even before he'd gone to bed the previous night. He had to sort out his plan of action, as well as figure out how to admit that he loved Alfred to his face. The idea was to give a straightforward confession while out on a date with his former enemy. At first it had seemed pretty easy to plan a date, but he was quickly proven wrong. The truth was, Ivan had no idea what he was doing. All he knew was that they'd go see a movie, but what would they watch or do afterwards? How exactly would he confess to Alfred? Was that even the right thing to do on the first date? These questions, along with many others, kept pestering him enough to cause a headache.

Ivan had never gone a date, let alone been with someone else. He'd never had any interest in anyone because he had Alfred—the antagonizing, annoying, cute Alfred that had been a constant in his life since he moved to this city. The realization of this made Ivan sigh and put his head in his hands.

"I'm an idiot," he groaned, then pulled his head up.

He stared out his window for a while, then checked the time. School would begin in a few minutes, and his problems still remained unsolved. He had been trying his damndest to think of date ideas and figure out what Alfred liked, but that was only half the battle. He still needed to admit his feelings without being vague or acting like an ass like he'd done back in the closet—that was a whole other can of worms Ivan didn't want to open, but he knew he had to. He loved Alfred; he knew it, he could admit it to himself, but saying it to Alfred directly was simply impossible. The guilt from what he'd done to Alfred just wanted him to suffer. How can you even confess your love to someone who nearly died for you? Someone who you almost second-handedly killed? The weight on Ivan's chest was suddenly a lot heavier, and as his clock changed to 7:40 a.m., he slowly got up to take his tortured soul downstairs to go to school.

Upon stepping off the last stair, his father and mother seemed to materialize out of thin air. He had been so distracted by his thoughts that he hadn't noticed them until it was too late. It was an odd sight to see them both together, especially in the morning, but it seemed like whatever they were discussing had nothing to do with him for once. They talked quietly amongst themselves as he slowly tiptoed his way around them.

"I'll be at the office late processing the Green Rock Gang case," came Aleksis' voice.

"Fine," replied Marie, "I'll tell Katyusha to watch the others."

It was a simple conversation, but it still made Ivan feel weird to listen to his parents talk. However, he quickly got over it and managed to slip out of the house, taking an alternative route to school to avoid his parents driving past him in their cars. He sighed as he started his walk. Instead of feeling the sense of peace that usually came over him during his morning walk, he felt nothing short of miserable. The relentless issue of planning a date and confessing was not going to be forgotten so easily. The teen found himself deep in thought as he tried to come up with date ideas, what Alfred would like, how badly things could go, and even contemplated his own death at the hands of Alfred.

Ivan didn't even realize that he arrived at school until he heard someone shout his name. He found himself standing with his usual gang as well as Alfred's, which he only realized once Alfred himself was in his space. The blonde was looking at him critically, and Ivan looked at him, confused. This went on for several long moments, until the tension became unbearable.

" _What?"_ Ivan finally snapped.

"That's what I'd like to know," Alfred said, sounding a bit annoyed. "You've been looking as if you're trying to figure out the meaning of life for a few days now."

Ivan just sighed and pulled at the strap of his backpack.

"I'm not thinking of something that stupid."

"Oh really? Are you contemplating why you have a micropenis, or perhaps why you didn't get picked up off the corner last night?"

Ivan felt a surge of annoyance at hearing this—his eye twitching as he looked at Alfred. As much as he loved Alfred, he wanted to really punch him. Just one solid blow to his smart mouth would feel great, but also feel awful. Old habits really do die hard.

"Alfred, perhaps you should be contemplating on why you haven't been called out to suck off the principal as of late," he retorted.

Alfred raised both his eyebrows at the comeback, then shook his head as he put a hand on Ivan's arm.

"Babe, the principal isn't gonna call on _me_ —that's _your_ job," he said with a sneer as he poked Ivan in the chest. "Besides, I believe my talents will be needed elsewhere," he added in a voice low enough that only Ivan could hear.

Ivan bristled at the comment, but refused to let it show. He didn't know how to take that or respond, but Alfred helped him out by turning his back and pointing out that it was time for class. Ivan stared after Alfred feeling a mix of irritation towards the blond and himself. He tried to think of a comeback as he headed to class, but his thoughts soon turned back to his previous issues. He found himself slipping into autopilot, going through the motions of going to his locker, to class, and ignoring what went on around him.

Ivan's whole day seemed to pass by him in the blink of an eye. He could only keep his thoughts on his worries and on the threat of finals week that was approaching much too quickly for his liking. He knew he had a tendency to block out things—everyone in his gang knew it—but Alfred didn't. However, Ivan wasn't aware of this, and as he hurriedly tried to find out what a good date spot would be, how to boost his confidence enough to confess his love, and study for his finals as his father breathed down his neck, Alfred was left completely alone. Ivan barely remembered to respond to his texts or even acknowledge him most of the time. The days stretched on until he was facing the last day of school and finishing his last final.

Alfred sat next to him in their English class, but didn't spare him so much as a glance as they sat in the classroom goofing off. All the tests were in, which left them with a bit of free time. Ivan stared at Alfred curiously for a moment, then looked at his notebook that had his plans inside. The date plan he had finally managed to pull together was nicely written out on paper: movies, restaurant (buffet?), walk in the park, and finally (hopefully), confess his love and makeout. The plan was finally set after spending days trying to come up with something—now all that was left was to ask Alfred out. Alfred had had his stitches off for three days now, and as the final minutes of school ticked by Ivan wanted to start off their summer right.

' _Our summer…'_

Now that he'd thought about it, the words felt right in his mind. He couldn't wait to get Alfred alone so he could ask him out. He found himself staring back at the blonde, who was talking animatedly with friends in the class, then up to the clock. He painstakingly waited for the clock face to read 4:00, silently urging time to move faster. When the last bell rang for the final time 'til next school year, Ivan eagerly got out of his desk to get to Alfred.

"Alfred! Alfred, I need to ask you something!" Ivan shouted over the raucous cheers of joy as hundreds of students charged out of the school and into the bright summer evening.

Ivan tried to grab at Alfred's arm, but the blonde seemed to not notice it and kept moving with everyone else. Soon Ivan was left behind in the classroom, but it didn't stay that way. He quickly pushed past the tidal wave of students to get to the blonde head that he knew to be Alfred's.

"Alfred," Ivan called out as he reached for Alfred's backpack. He managed to snag the handle at the top of the backpack and Alfred turned around to show an annoyed expression.

"What do you want?" Alfred asked, voice dripping with irritation.

"Fredya, is something wrong?" Ivan asked, unable to overlook the blonde's blatant annoyance.

Alfred let out a forced laugh as he said, "What would _ever_ give you that idea? I'm just fuckin' fine as always."

Ivan furrowed his brow at the response, unsure if Alfred was sarcastic or just being himself.

"Um… Well, if there is something wrong you can tell me," Ivan said, and Alfred looked at him with surprise. "You are my boy—"

"Hold it right there, Braginsky," Alfred interrupted. "I ain't shit to you, and you proved that pretty damn well when I got my stitches removed. I asked you to come with me so we could have sex afterwards as a celebration, but instead you just ignored me, and now that's what I'm just gonna do to you."

With that Alfred turned on his heel and walked off down the hall and to the stairs. Ivan stood in the hallway completely speechless. He had no idea what to say, but he knew what to feel as he watched Alfred disappear down the stairs—heartache and confusion.

He had no clue that Alfred had asked me to go with him when he removed his stitches. He had no clue that he'd been asked for sex. He had no clue that getting yelled at and then getting the silent treatment would hurt so badly. His chest ached as he tried to figure out what had happened, and why.

' _Did I just lose Alfred?'_

This question was burning to be answered, but it didn't get to when someone bumped into Ivan's shoulder. Ivan realized that he wasn't the only one in the hallway then; that students still passed by getting to their lockers and cleaning them out. All of them had managed to avoid him except for one unlucky teen and Ivan didn't even think as he reacted on instinct. He followed after the teen that had bumped him and didn't hold back once he caught up to him at a trash can. They was throwing away crumpled papers and Ivan made sure the teen joined them.

"Bumping into someone and not apologizing is rude," he spat as he watched the teen's legs kicking around to try and tip over the heavy trash can.

A part of the Russian felt at ease at seeing someone suffering by his hands, but it wasn't enough to ease his own suffering. He glared at the teen lodged in the trash can then kicked the can himself to tip it over. As the kid scrambled to get out of the trash, to his feet, and away from Ivan, Ivan paid them no mind as he stalked down the stairs.

' _Alfred can't leave me like this. I have finally come up with a perfect date for us,'_ Ivan thought bitterly as he made it to the first floor. _'What could I have done to make him want to leave?'_

Ivan felt his anger fading as he replayed his and Alfred's conversation in his head and tried to think back on days previous.

' _I missed him getting his stitches removed and having sex? …Would we have really done it?'_

Ivan felt the pain in his chest increase and his good friend guilt settling in for a long stay. When he got to his locker he felt lost and dejected and slumped forward to bump his head into the locker door.

"If I missed out on that…what else did I ignore?"

Ivan pondered over this as he found the energy to open his locker, clean it out, and left the school with his belongings. He walked home alone, shooing away his gang that awaited him outside, and buried himself in his thoughts. By the time he reached home he felt worse than ever and when he reached his bedroom he felt all hope had left him.

' _I fucked up.'_

Ivan collapsed on his bed as if he was falling into a pile of pity and despair. He had blown it with Alfred, a teen that never liked being taken lightly or ignored by anyone. Alfred's presence alone demanded attention, and yet Ivan had ignored him for two entire weeks.

' _I can't let him go.'_ Ivan thought as he pulled out his date plan. The now crumpled paper was in his hands and all he wanted to do was show it to Alfred, to prove his feelings. He felt like his heart had been ripped out and shredded with knives, and he wondered briefly if that's how Alfred felt in the closet that day.

The Russian let out a sigh and rolled over to look at the time then to his date plan. He bit the inside of his cheek as he stared at the paper then clumped it up in his hand. He needed to fix things between them, he needed to give Alfred what he needed, and in order to do that he needed Alfred to go on a date with him. He couldn't let Alfred be with someone else, fight with someone else, smile at someone else… The thought alone made his gut twist.

"I will fix this," Ivan told himself as he pulled out his phone.

He quickly texted Alfred, cringing at the texts that had amassed while Ivan ignored the blond and hoped the other would reply. Little did he know that Alfred had absolutely no interest in what he had to say. His simple messages of 'I need to talk to you.', 'Please text back.', 'I'm sorry', and the like wasn't going to make Alfred budge.

For three days Ivan was completely ignored, until Alfred finally sent a text that said, 'LEAVE ME ALONE! THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN SAY TO CHANGE ANYTHING!'

Now Ivan wasn't one to take that lightly and felt like there was something he could do if only Alfred would listen to him. The Russian wasn't going to back down no matter how much Alfred's words stung. Thus he came up with a plan to get Alfred back—a better one so to speak. He wasn't going to wait around for Alfred to come to him, to respond to him, he was going to go to Alfred. It wasn't hard to get ahold of Alfred's address after asking Feliks and Toris for that information. Once it was in his possession, he waited until 10:00 pm to set his plan into action. He dressed his best: scarf, jeans, a simple button-up with stripes, and sneakers—no weapons, no gang clothes. He slipped out his house through the back and walked over to the west side of town.

It took him over an hour to finally make it to Alfred's neighborhood, and easily managed to slip through a neighboring yard and hop the fence to get to Alfred's. He looked at the dark house, scanning the windows, and found only two with lights on. Ivan quickly scrounged around for a few rocks and then took a chance at throwing one of them at the window closest to a tree. It was open halfway, but the blinds were closed.

The rock struck the glass with a loud clank and Ivan waited for only a second before throwing the next one. He repeated the process three more times until someone finally came to the window, but by then he had already let go of the fifth rock. The blonde head that had peeked through the window was pelted and let out a curse.

"Shit! Sorry! I'm so sorry Alfred!" Ivan frantically shouted up at the window.

He fiddled with the ends of his scarf as he waited for the blonde to resurface.

"You're lucky I'm not bleeding," came a voice, and Ivan looked back up to see the blonde had returned.

"I'm sorry Alfred," Ivan said, his words holding more weight than the other could possible imagine.

A sigh came in response then little clanks and taps as the pebble fell down the side of the house to land on the ground.

"I'm not Alfred. I'm Matthew. His window is over there, closer to the roof covering the back porch," the blonde informed as he looked down at Ivan.

"Oh, sorry to bother you then," Ivan said then moved to start chucking the remainder of his rocks at the correct window, but Matthew stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that. It's not gonna do you any good."

Ivan paused and looked back to Matthew resting on his windowsill.

"I have to talk to him."

"Well you may have to you, but he ain't gonna listen. He's really pissed at you. He punched a hole in his wall because of you," Mattie informed as he put his chin in his hand.

Ivan looked at him blankly for a moment, which soon changed to determination.

"I have to talk to him. I have something to show him, so please, Matthew, at least... At least let him come to the window," Ivan pleaded.

The emotion welling up in him was starting to give him a headache as he tried to keep his cool. He felt frustrated with himself and he knew if he could see his past self, he'd kick his own ass.

Matthew looked down the tall Russian bellow skeptically. He had little trust in Ivan to begin with and after seeing his twin look so pathetic he had even less trust. That being so, he knew Alfred wanted Ivan and he could tell Ivan wanted Alfred. Alfred had never punched a hole in his wall no matter how upset he got, plus seeing him so desperate for attention the past few weeks made his feelings pretty obvious. And now seeing Ivan standing outside his window practically begging to see Alfred, well… might as well help two idiots make peace.

"Fine, but if this goes bad you better stay away from him," Matthew ordered.

He could care less about Ivan's reputation, he was going to protect his brother, and once Ivan gave a quick nod he left the window. He opened the bathroom door and walked through the jack-and-jill to get to Alfred's room. He opened the door quietly and slowly, and what he found was Alfred sitting on his bed staring at the window as if expecting something to happen. It looked like he had been busy on his laptop, seeing that it was open beside him, but his attention had been taken away somehow.

' _Did he hear Ivan?'_ Matthew wondered as he eyed his brother.

"Alfred?"

The blonde jumped slightly at realizing he wasn't alone and looked over to Matthew walking into his room.

"What is it?" Alfred asked as he watched Matthew take a seat on his bed.

"Nothing, just…wondering if you're still sulking."

Alfred gave a deadpan look to his brother who only smiled back, and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm not sulking. Iv—Braginsky is an asshole, plain and simple. And he can be an asshole with someone else."

Matthew gave a hum to this then looked beside Alfred to see the plaster covered hole. They hadn't had a chance to paint over it. Alfred knew what Matthew was looking at and just sighed and slumped over to lay on his side.

"I don't care about him. He treated me like I was nothing and I hate him more than ever now. We're not meant to be together like this."

"'Like this'?" Matthew asked, wanting to see what Alfred was thinking and egging him on.

"A couple or whatever… Everything was fine when we were just beating each other up on a regular bases and talking trash to each other."

"You mean flirting?"

"What?" Alfred asked briefly, then blushed slightly after thinking about it. "No!"

"Al, you and Ivan always flirt. Sure, it's in the form of insults, but it's basically flirting. Plus the way you guys looked at each other made it seem y'all would start fucking each other any second," Matthew pointed it, recalling the past years of Ivan and Alfred's rivalry.

"It wasn't… I didn't… Fuck you, Mattie!" Alfred finally got out then kicked his brother in the side lightly.

"Don't get pissed at me because you finally admitted you love someone only for it to get difficult. You took a bullet for him like a lovesick idiot, you punched a hole in the wall because of him. You should have seen this coming. Both you and Ivan are emotionally stunted," Matthew huffed and shoved his brother's pressing foot away.

Alfred pouted at hearing this then let out a deep breath as he gave up fighting his brother. Matthew noticed this easily and went on to say, "Now are you going to fuckin' deal with your feelings, because I know Ivan is ready to. He's waiting outside my window in the backyard for you right now."

Alfred seemed to tense at hearing this.

"I know," he muttered.

"What was that?" Matthew asked

"I said 'I know he's there,' okay!" he snapped. "But I ain't going!"

Matthew pushed Alfred's laptop aside and lay down in its place so he could look at his brother's face clearly. He was blushing slightly, and it only grew darker as Matthew stared straight into his eyes.

"The leader of The Heroes who can pick a fight with a cop, rob people, and buy booze with the intent to burn down a building, can't fuckin face his feelings. If you don't see him right now you can spend your next kiss kissing your relationship goodbye."

Alfred stared back at his brother, both unblinking for a while, until Matthew moved a hand to Alfred's face. He touched Alfred's cheek and with his thumb and index finger pinched Alfred's cheek until he cried out.

" _Ow ow ow_ FUCK! Okay!"

"Okay what?"

"I'll fuckin' see him already! Now stop!"

Matthew let go of Alfred and the blonde rubbed his sore cheek as Matthew got up.

"I hate you," Alfred said as he got up as well.

"I love you too," Matthew replied as he opened Alfred's window and stuck his head out. "Ivan!" he called out into the darkness.

The teen in question had taken to sitting on the grass, but quickly got to his feet once his name was called. He walked over to the other window and saw Matthew looked down at him.

"Good luck."

Ivan felt his heart speed up as Matthew said this then disappeared to only be replaced by another blonde sharing his face.

"Alfred?" Ivan said in a sort of soft voice.

The blonde in question didn't look at him as he got comfortable in the windowsill. Ivan waited a while to see if Alfred would look his way, but after it became apparent he wouldn't Ivan just sighed and went on with his plan.

"Alfred, I'm sorry. I know I can't say it enough, but I am. I didn't realize I was ignoring you because I'm used to everyone leaving me alone when I'm busy."

Alfred seemed to roll his eyes, but Ivan wasn't sure from where he was.

"I mean it—"

"Ivan, what do you want? Was it just to apologize? Was it to tell me what you've been so fuckin' busy with? Or was it to see if you could get me back? 'Cause I'll tell you right now, it sure as hell felt like I was never with you."

Ivan felt his guilt crushing his heart, but he fought through it and put on a brave face.

"Alfred…What I was so busy with was… I was trying to make you happy."

"Make me happy?" Alfred repeated skeptically.

"Yes. When you took me up to the third floor that day, but got interrupted by those girls…I've been busy thinking about that and trying to prove to you that I… I care," Ivan said knowing that care should have been love, but he just couldn't say it.

" _Care_ … wow…" Alfred said flatly, but then jerked and hissed from something behind him. Unknown to Ivan, Matthew had just pinched his brother for his attitude.

"Alfred?"

"Okay! Fuck…" Alfred pouted and finally moved to look at Ivan directly. The teen stood in the yellow square of light with a determined look on his face. "So, you thought about what I said and wanted to make me happy?" he asked in a gentle voice this time, letting the words sink in.

"Yes, and I think I have done so, but I need you to come with me," Ivan said.

"And go where?" Alfred asked, a bit interested.

Ivan felt like his heart would explode as he said, "On a date."

Alfred felt his heart stop as he heard those words, but a part of him couldn't believe it.

"What did you just say?" he asked quickly.

"I said, I want to take you on a date," Ivan repeated, loud and clear.

" _Holy fuck_ ," was Alfred could say and he whirled around to look at his brother.

"Go for it!" his twin said. "This is it, Al. Don't fuck it up!"

Alfred could barely think as Matthew told him this, but gave a nod and looked back at Ivan.

"O-Okay."

Ivan smiled brightly though mentally he had just collapsed in relief. He then dug into his pants to pull out his phone.

"Great! Now come down, we have a movie to go to in twenty minutes!"

Alfred nodded and quickly scrambled to get out of his pajamas and into something suitable—bright blue skinny jeans, black and white star speckled t-shirt, and black converse. Once dressed he went for the door, but paused and looked back at his brother.

"I still hate you," Alfred said pointedly, "but just a little less."

Matthew smiled at Alfred, who returned the gesture before leaving his room. He went out through the back door and the moment he was in sight of Ivan he felt himself freeze. He questioned himself on why he was in such a rush, why was he so eager, why seeing Ivan made everything seem to slow down and fall away. He felt like he was betraying his previous attitude, but also betraying his true feelings that still stubbornly held onto him after all this time. He had to admit he felt happy to see Ivan, but he also feel annoyed.

He walked up to him slowly and Ivan felt his mouth dry up at finally getting close to Alfred. The blonde stood with a good gap between them in the backyard. Neither knew what to do, whether to hug or not, to kiss or not, to just not do anything and get going. Alfred was the first to move, raising a bruised hand up (no doubt caused from punching his wall) and lightly slapped Ivan's face. The Russian flinched a little, expecting a much harder hit.

"I'd slap you harder but my hand still hurts," Alfred grumbled, even though his hand still lingered on Ivan's face.

The skin was cool, having taken on the chill of the summer night. Ivan reached a hand up to take it gently and Alfred thought to jerk his hand away, but didn't act on it.

"You can hit me harder when it's healed. I deserve it," Ivan said simply.

Alfred felt his heart race at hearing this, but it faltered when a throat was cleared loudly.

"Are you guys gonna go to the movie, or just make out in the backyard?"

Alfred blushed darkly and turned around to flip his brother off.

"Piss off, Mattie. We're leaving!"

Matthew laughed lightly and watched the two start to leave, but then stopped Ivan by saying, "Have him home before 3! And I swear," he added, "If you fuck this up, I'll fuck _you_ up!"

Ivan just nodded and Matthew smiled at them as they left. Alfred led Ivan out of his backyard and onto the street where they quickly headed off to the movie theater Ivan had picked. The walk to the theater was awkwardly silent, neither sure of what to say or do. They didn't say a word to each other until they were at the theater and Ivan asked Alfred if he wanted popcorn.

"Yeah, sure," Alfred replied.

Ivan gave a mere nod before getting what Alfred wanted. With popcorn and drinks in hand they headed off to watch an action movie with lots of romantic undertones. Ivan had picked it because he knew Alfred was a hero fanatic, and a bit of romance would help set the mood. It seemed to work just as Ivan hoped, but the mood was a more tense than either would have liked when romance was on the screen. Alfred felt his heart racing each time the hero shared a kiss or a sex scene or two with someone on screen. All he could think about was Ivan doing the same to him, which drudged up embarrassment and the urge to leave. He wanted to say something to lighten the mood, perhaps trash talk the movie, but there were complications, 1: it was a movie Ivan had picked out for them as their date movie, so trashing it would be insulting, and 2: he couldn't even find the words to insult the movie. (In his defense, it was really good.)

Thus Alfred kept his mouth shut and focused on the movie. Ivan felt the same as him in this regard, but he didn't want to insult the movie incase Alfred really did like it. He wanted to do something to break the tension and even tried to hold his hand on "accident", but failed at it. He had meant to hold Alfred's hand when reaching for popcorn, but he found himself incapable of doing so. He felt like he'd be forcing things and he wasn't wanting that. He found himself eyeing Alfred frequently during the movie, wanting to do things and not having the heart to do them. For someone to be rumored heartless and stated cold and unforgiving, he was a weak mess with Alfred sitting beside him.

Eventually the movie ended and all Ivan could muster was a nudge to Alfred's arm to make him get up.

"I'm going, I'm going," Alfred said as he got out his seat. "So, anything else planned?"

"Yes, dinner at that buffet that's open all day," Ivan informed as he tossed out their empty cups and bag.

Alfred let out a gasp right then and Ivan turned back to him curiously.

"You mean Momo's Home?!"

Ivan gave a slow nod and Alfred looked as if ready to jump for joy.

"Holy shit! I haven't been there in ages, but they got the best shit!" Alfred declared.

He went on to talk about his past visits and how he once got mashed potatoes in Matthew's hair as they left the theater. Ivan just smiled and listened intently as he walked in step with Alfred's quick pace. It felt nice to hear Alfred talking so freely with him. He hardly interrupted as they walked to their next destination, and Alfred only fell silent the moment he caught sight of the food. Ivan trailed after him, silently enjoying an early victory. There was no doubt in his mind that he had given Alfred the date he'd always wanted.

When they finally took a seat in a corner booth Alfred broke from his silence.

"So… thanks for this… I guess," Alfred said as he pushed his spoon into his mountain of mac n cheese.

"You're welcome, it's what you wanted after all," Ivan said as he poked at his food.

Alfred seemed to fall silent at this and Ivan glanced up to see the other blushing faintly.

"I know… two weeks of thinking and ignoring my ass, and you come up with a pretty good date—so far, that is," Alfred said as he pointed his spoon at Ivan, forgetting the mac n cheese still clinging to it.

The noodles ended up flying at Ivan and hit him in the face, shirt, and his own food. Alfred stared at the Russian in awe as the noodle on his face slid down his check to his plate. Once it landed Alfred found himself giggling, and Ivan just narrowed his eyes into an annoyed glare.

"I'm sorry big guy," Alfred said between laughs as he noticed the heated look.

Ivan just rolled his eyes and reached for napkins.

"If you was sorry you would clean up the mess you caused," Ivan said, half teasing, as he wrangled some napkins free of their holder.

"Okay, okay. My bad."

With that Alfred took the napkins Ivan had and moved his plate of food out of the way to lean over the table. He scrubbed the drying cheese off Ivan's cheek without much of a second thought. He didn't even notice the darkening shade of pink coming to Ivan's face, until he finished the job. He had moved back after cleaning Ivan's shirt as best he could and realized how close they were and how soft Ivan's cheek felt in his hand.

"S-Sorry," Alfred mumbled as he sat back and Ivan just nodded his head.

Silence resided over them for a while as they both avoided looking at each other.

"Thanks," Ivan finally said, breaking the silence.

"No problem."

They fell back into their silence after this and ate their cooling food. Ivan was halfway down with his until he recalled where their conversation had been going until the mac n cheese incident.

"I didn't mean to ignore you."

Alfred gave a hum of confusion as he looked up from the soda he was drinking.

"I didn't mean to ignore you," Ivan repeated. "I just… I was so busy trying to think of a date you'd like and studying for finals that I just…"

"Ignored me," Alfred provided.

Ivan fell silent and Alfred just let out a sigh.

"Look I get it, but that's really fucked up. You could have just told me what was going on."

"But the date was a surprise."

"You could have lied to me!" Alfred said with a "duh-you-idiot" expression on his face. "I would have found out the truth and only mildly beat you up for lying to me."

Ivan didn't know what to say and Alfred just went back to eating. The rest of the meal was spent in silence, though Ivan did tease Alfred for going up for a third plate.

Eventually the pair left the restaurant stuffed and less awkward and tense than they had begun with.

"What next?" Alfred asked as he walked alongside Ivan.

"A walk through the park," Ivan responded.

"Oooo how romantic," Alfred cooed and leaned into the taller teen.

Ivan rolled his eyes but smiled as he nudged Alfred in the side.

"Yes, it's very romantic," he said. "Now shut up and walk."

Alfred laughed at this, but did as he was told. They walked down the streets and the occasional back alley whenever they saw someone they didn't want to be noticed by. When they reached the park Alfred tensed slightly at seeing exactly _which_ park it was, but then relaxed as Ivan's hand brushed his.

"Nice park," Alfred said what a grin. "You picked it out on your own?"

"Da, it's a good place for memories," Ivan replied as he led the way down a path. The lamp posts lit their way, showing the graffiti that covered their walk way.

"Yeah, though getting thrown into a cop car with you was not so great a memory," Alfred said as he poked Ivan's arm.

Ivan rolled his eyes and kept walking. Alfred stuck his tongue out at being ignored but kept up with Ivan. They walked through the winding paths, getting closer to the river. Occasionally their hands would brush and unknown to the other, both would try to reach for the other. Neither was very certain on their standing with each other, and neither knew how to bring it up.

"Over here," Ivan finally said, trying his best to shove away the nervousness that crept up his back.

Alfred gave his approval until he turned with Ivan and saw where they were going. It was a park bench facing the river. Ivan took a seat first and Alfred stood a step back as he realized just what bench it was.

"You going to have a seat?" Ivan asked as he looked up at Alfred.

Alfred felt his face heat up but gave a nod, marking that moment as the second time he sat next to Ivan Braginsky of his own free will. They sat next to each other with a decent sized gap between them. Though at some point their hands touched lightly—just a part of their thumbs and index finger pressed together. Neither moved for quite some time, nor talked for that matter. They just sat on the bench and watched the river move lazily. Though as the silence stretched, one of Alfred's fingers twitched, which made Ivan move his own in response. Thinking it was a sign Ivan hooked his finger with Alfred's, who tensed, but then relaxed shortly after as he followed Ivan's motions. They slowly and awkwardly worked their fingers together until they finally held the other's hand. Ivan squeezed Alfred's hand lightly, enjoying the soft feel of it, though it was a bit sweaty. Alfred liked it, finally holding hands, doing something couples would do, but that was just it, where they a couple? He never did get an answer to that, well, one that he believed anyway. And as they sat on the bench in silence, Alfred finally couldn't help but voice the issue.

"What are we Ivan?"

Ivan felt his peace with their situation break at the question and he looked over to Alfred confused. The younger teen sighed and pulled his hand away from Ivan's, which left both feeling a bit cold.

"What are we?" Alfred repeated a bit annoyed. "One second we're enemies, the next frenemies, and now boyfriends? Exs?"

Ivan turned to look at Alfred and ran his cold hand through his hair as he tried to think.

"I thought we were together… Isn't that what you wanted?" Ivan asked.

"Yeah but… I don't want to be the only one in this, whateveritis!" Alfred said irritated. "You know how I feel about you! I took a bullet for you!"

"And you almost _died_ because of me!" Ivan retorted, anger rising as he looked right at Alfred. "I almost killed you. How could you expect me to tell you I love you when all I feel is guilt? This whole date was to make me feel like I could tell you, that I was worthy enough, but I'm just not. We've hated each other for years and to just…" Ivan trialed off, unsure of what he wanted to say or if he should even talk anymore.

Alfred stared at him in shock, but quickly got over it as he noticed the anger and hurt in Ivan's face.

"Look… I know we did some bad shit to each other, but it's okay. It's us, ya know. I hit you, you hit me. I break your nose, you break my finger, etc. Things could have been different, sure, but… I like how things turned out. I mean, it's not every day you get shot in the chest and live to tell the tale, ya know?"

Ivan rolled his eyes and Alfred scooted closer to him.

"If it helps… I forgive you, although it was Carlos that was going to kill me."

"But if it hadn't been for me you wouldn't have been targeted."

Alfred shrugged his shoulders and Ivan just shook his head.

"You are stupid."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

Ivan couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of him right then and Alfred smiled brightly at hearing it.

"So, Ivan I will ask again… Do you like me?"

Ivan took a deep breath at the question and moved his hand to hold Alfred's once again.

"I… I love you."

Alfred felt his heart stop at finally hearing those words. Ivan felt like the weight of an elephant had finally been lifted from him.

"Do, do you still love me?" Ivan asked hoping after all this that Alfred could forgive him and be his once more.

"I do," Alfred said softly then went on to ask, "S-So, what are we?"

Ivan smiled at Alfred and moved down to bump his nose into Alfred's. He moved his head to the side and placed a kiss on Alfred's lips.

"Boyfriends?"

"Ya bet yer ass," Alfred said with his face feeling like it was on fire.

The blonde then took his hand from Ivan's to grab ahold of his shoulders and pull the other in for another kiss. Ivan didn't hesitate to kiss back, moving his hands to Alfred's cheek and hip and keeping him close. Alfred moaned softly in his throat as he enjoyed the contact between them. He shivered as he felt Ivan's tongue invade his mouth, as well as a hand go under his shirt. He clawed at Ivan's shirt as he pushed his own tongue into the teen's mouth. Ivan groaned then let out a gasp before breaking the kiss. Both of them panted for air as they rested their foreheads against each other. Alfred found himself smiling at feeling his lips tingle, and looked up at Ivan to see him flushed and focused only on him. Alfred instantly felt his cock twitch from the look and moved to kiss Ivan's lips chastely, then his cheek, then his neck hidden by the scarf. Ivan hummed at the action and went to do the same to Alfred. Alfred moaned softly and gasped as he felt Ivan sucking on his neck. He knew what the other was doing and blushed darkly and looked around the park as he felt Ivan give him a hickey. Though as he did this Alfred made a startlingly discovery and Ivan stopped what he was doing as he felt Alfred tense in his arms.

"What is it, Fredya?" he asked as he pulled Alfred to look at him.

The blond was pale as a ghost but his blush still remained.

"C-Could we go to my hangout to do this? Like right now?" Alfred asked quickly but softly.

Ivan arched a curious brow and Alfred went on to say: "There's a homeless dude watching us."

Ivan looked at Alfred owlishly and looked back out of the corner of his eye to see, in fact, a homeless person resting against a tree facing them. He couldn't tell if he was staring at them or not in the darkness but it didn't matter.

"Let's go, now."

Alfred quickly agreed and took Ivan's hand when he got to his feet and started to run.

"Oh my God that is so fuckin' creepy!" Alfred shouted as he led the way to his hangout.

Ivan agreed wholeheartedly and started to laugh at their situation. Alfred ended up joining in as they ran through the alleys.

It didn't take them long to get the hang out and once there Alfred gave Ivan the grand tour.

"Here it is! Great isn't?" Alfred asked as he looked at the rundown apartment building. "Better than your place anyways."

Ivan rolled his eyes at the comment, but followed Alfred to the back of the building.

"Before you ask, no, we don't use the front door. It brings unwanted attention from weirdos and cops—plus the door to this apartment we use can't be opened." Alfred explained as he climbed up the fire escape.

"So you go in through the window?" Ivan surmised as he climbed up after Alfred.

"Yup. If you ask me, the place looks like a dusty museum that's slowly decomposing, but it's awesome!" Alfred said with a smile and stopped on the level he needed.

He shook the window a bit then forced it up, allowing him and Ivan to slip in. Once inside Alfred shut the window and Ivan stared at the place in awe.

"Nice, isn't it? This is the living room, over there is the kitchen, then back in this little hallway is the bedroom," Alfred pointed out.

Ivan had to admit that the place did look good, even if it was a mess. He could see the touches that Alfred and his gang added. Tags here and there, Kyle's name spray-painted on a wall, blankets laid out on the floor, clothes and weapons here and there, garbage that looked recent, and bottles of vodka. Ivan paused as he noticed the bottles and moved over to them to find them still full and seals unbroken. Alfred quickly spotted them and rushed over to hide them.

"Ahahaha, those uh… it's not what you're thinking, honest!"

"Oh, so you and your gang don't get drunk and fuck each other after all?" Ivan asked with a smirk.

Alfred gave a forced laugh and rolled his eyes.

"You're so hilarious. No, I was gonna use it to burn down your place—but hey! Things changed!"

Ivan gawked at Alfred and the blonde just winked at him, taking a step forward so they were chest to chest.

"You can't be that surprised," Alfred said as he smiled at Ivan.

The taller teen gave a hum to this, then shrugged his shoulders.

"I have thought about burning down your hangout, too, so I guess we're even."

Alfred gave a hurt gasp and turned away from Ivan, arms crossed.

"That is suck a dick move," he huffed out and Ivan couldn't help the smirk that came to his face.

He moved up to hug Alfred from behind and pressed his lower half into Alfred.

"Like you have room to talk, Fredya."

" _Ew_ , get your micropenis away from me," Alfred whined, though he felt his cock stiffen a little.

Ivan let out a sigh at hearing this.

"I guess I'll just have to show you how big I am for you to shut up."

"Then do it! I dare ya," Alfred said with a laugh and turned around in Ivan's hold.

"Fine then."

With that Ivan leaned forward to kiss Alfred once more. He didn't waste time in slipping his tongue into Alfred's mouth, tasting him again. Alfred moaned and clutched Ivan's shirt, holding the other to him as he kissed back. Ivan breathed deeply and moved his hands to run underneath and up Alfred's shirt, enjoying the feel of his hot skin. Alfred gasped from the contact, which freed Ivan to latch on to the blonde's neck. He found his hickey from before and began to add a second one below it. Alfred groaned and felt his pants tighten even more.

"Fuck," he said breathily, then let out a hiss as Ivan sucked roughly on his neck.

He felt like his legs were going to give out and he looked out the corner of his eye to see a wall not far behind him. He took a step backwards and sure enough Ivan followed. He let out a little laugh and walked as evenly as possible, occasionally stumbling, back towards the wall. Once he felt the peeling the wallpaper against his back Ivan let go.

"Something wrong?"

Alfred shook his head and moved forward to kiss Ivan again. Ivan could feel Alfred's hands leave his shirt to go down to his hips and pull him forward.

"Lemme see that micropenis," Alfred teased after breaking the kiss.

Ivan stopped moving at hearing this and at feeling Alfred's hand grabbing at his belt. Ivan didn't move until he felt the clasp coming undone and he quickly grabbed Alfred's hand.

"W-Wait!"

"What?" Alfred asked, afraid he'd gone too far.

Ivan furrowed his brow then looked at Alfred uncertain.

"You was serious?"

"W-Weren't you?" Alfred asked.

The two stared at each other, confused and embarrassed.

"God," Alfred groaned and banged his head back on the wall causing a bit of plaster a few feet away to fall. Alfred just covered his face and slid down the wall to the floor.

"Did… Did, you want to do it?" Ivan asked as he got down to Alfred's level.

The blond squeezed his legs together to hide his erection and to rest his forehead on his knees.

"Would it be bad if I did?" he asked.

Ivan swallowed thickly at hearing the answer and could feel his own cock twitch. This was a moment he had dreamed of, literally, but he wasn't sure he could pull it off. On the other hand, Alfred wanted it too…

"No, it's not."

Alfred looked up to see Ivan running a nervous hand through his hair. Alfred let out a snort and moved to straddle Ivan's waist. The Russian blushed darkly at Alfred doing so and instantly felt himself become fully erect.

"You better not be saying that to make me feel better," Alfred said with a grin. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Ivan found his mouth becoming dry as the Sahara as Alfred sat on him. Alfred was on top of him, asking for sex, and yet he was holding back. He honestly didn't know why he was— was it the fear hurting Alfred, fear of being bad at sex, or fear that Alfred would leave him if he was bad? He didn't know, but he knew he wanted to give in. Seeing Alfred sitting in his lap like he was felt like déjà vu, though he knew it never happened. Ivan wanted Alfred badly, it was mutual, and so, there is no problem, right?

"I want to," Ivan finally said.

Alfred bit his bottom lip at hearing this and tentatively leaned upwards to kiss Ivan. Ivan wrapped his arms around Alfred as they made out, pulling him close enough so that Alfred could feel his obvious erection. In return, Ivan was able to feel Alfred's, and moaned softly between kisses.

"God, Alfred," he said in a husky voice.

Alfred moaned and nervously tried to buck his hips, but Ivan wouldn't let him. The older teen held him firmly and moved to put Alfred on his back. Alfred felt his nervous heart ready to burst the moment he caught sight of Ivan above him.

"Oh, _fuck_ _me_ ," he drawled.

Ivan smirked at hearing that and leaned down to kiss Alfred again, as well as press his lower half into Alfred. Alfred could feel just how big Ivan was and let out a hushed curse as the kiss ended. Ivan smirked at Alfred and pushed his hips forward, rubbing himself against Alfred, which made the blonde curse again.

"Do you believe now that I don't have a micropenis?" Ivan asked teasingly.

Alfred let out a hiss as Ivan kept rubbing against him, and just punched his arm weakly.

"Shut up and go faster!"

Ivan's smug look remained as he heeded Alfred's command. He dug his fingers into one of the many blankets scattered on the floor as he humped harder. He could feel Alfred's cock twitch ever-so-often from each thrust and his own was throbbing in his jeans. Even though just doing this felt amazing, he wanted to get things moving.

Ivan stilled his hips and before Alfred could complain, he moved his hands to cup Alfred's bulge. The blonde gasped and arched into the hand that began to squeeze and rub him.

" _Fuck_ ," he moaned.

Alfred rolled his hips as Ivan touched him then stopped as the hand went to undo his pants. Alfred bit his lip and looked down to see Ivan opening his pants then pulling them down to his shoes, which he quickly forced off. Alfred blushed darkly as he felt himself become exposed and fought the instinct to cover up once his cock was out in the open.

"Y-You too. I ain't gonna be on the only like this," Alfred said as he looked at Ivan, who was still fully clothed.

The Russian nodded his head and sat up on his knees.

"You want to do it?" Ivan asked as he looked up at Alfred.

Alfred bit his bottom lip but nodded and moved to sit up. He nervously touched Ivan's erection through his pants, then began to stroke it and squeeze it like Ivan had done to him. Ivan groaned and Alfred chewed on his lip as he started to work open Ivan's pants. Having already undone his belt, it was quick work to get them open and pushed down to Ivan's knees with his boxers. The moment Ivan's cock sprang free Alfred found himself extremely turned on and also slightly afraid that he'd get ripped open by how large Ivan was.

"Alfred?"

Alfred looked up to see Ivan looking at him with worry and he quickly gave a bright smile.

"What?"

Ivan looked at him skeptically and Alfred just kept smiling.

"If you don't want to do this after all, it's okay."

"No, no, no, I want to! I was just… surprised for a moment is all. Since, you know, your dick isn't as small as I thought."

Ivan rolled his eyes and moved to push Alfred onto his back.

"Shut up."

Alfred stuck out his tongue and Ivan gave a smug grin as he leaned down and bit it. Alfred flailed from the action, but Ivan subdued him by laying on him completely then pulling his tongue into his mouth for a French kiss. Alfred was caught completely off guard by this, but he easily got over it as he realized Ivan's bare manhood was against his own. He felt his whole body shake from the realization, and once the kiss was over he said, "Fuck me now, you ass."

Alfred had never been so ready to have sex in his life. He had never been with anyone who made him want to go this far, and _damn,_ did it feel good. Ivan felt the same as well. He wanted nothing more than to reenact the dreams that haunted him since the beginning. Alfred was finally, completely, his.

"Fine, I will," he stated and spit into his hand. "This is gonna hurt."

Alfred didn't say anything back, only heeding the words and trying to relax as much as he could. He knew it was going to hurt, he tried fucking himself from time to time only to give up because it hurt or he was hurting himself through a side cramp trying to find his sweet spot.

"Oh shitshit _shit_!"

Alfred hissed as he felt Ivan's finger work itself into him, there wasn't enough spit in the world to make that thing go in any smoother. Ivan cursed and tried to keep gentle but Alfred kept tensing.

"Relax!"

"Fuck you!" Alfred shot back. "Just take it out! There's gotta be lube somewhere," he grumbled.

Ivan arched a brow at hearing this, but removed his finger. Alfred sighed in relief then made Ivan help him up so he could go find the lube he mentioned.

"Why would lube be here?" Ivan asked as he watched Alfred's bare ass walk away from him.

"Because I'd bring people over every now and then. I hadn't in a while though, but there should still be some around," Alfred clarified. "Hopefully no one else in the gang has been using it," he muttered as he searched the living room then went to the bedroom.

A few slamming draws and rustling minutes passed until a victorious "A _ha_!" came from the room. Alfred soon came back with a nearly empty bottle in hand and Ivan just stared at him blankly.

"What?"

"Do you still… see these other people?" Ivan asked as Alfred got back on the floor.

"No," Alfred said as he looked at Ivan oddly. "I haven't brought anyone here in like… months."

Ivan still held his blank stare but Alfred had a light bulb go off.

"Oh my god, are you jealous?"

Ivan instantly rolled his eyes and looked away from Alfred.

"No."

"You _are_! Dude, there's no reason to be! We never went all the way," Alfred said with a laugh. "We did oral stuff or hand jobs."

Ivan still kept his eyes of Alfred, sure a part of him was happy about this, but another part was still pissed that other people got to Alfred before he did.

"Whatever, just give me the lube," Ivan said before snatching it from Alfred and opening the cap. Alfred still laughed as he laid back down, finding it hilarious that Ivan was jealous, until he felt a lubed finger roughly go up his ass.

"Ah, fuck!"

Alfred quickly shot a glare down at Ivan and tried to kick him, but the teen easily prevented that by pushing in a second finger. Alfred cringed for a second before relaxing and moaning lowly. Ivan still had the second finger going in, but his other hand was making up for the pain by stroking his cock. Alfred arched his back as he felt the fingers going deeper and the pain fading. He moaned Ivan's name then jerked sharply as his prostate was grazed.

"Fuck right there!"

Ivan, being new to sex in general, was completely captivated by Alfred. He always had the pleasure of watching someone shiver in pain because of his touch, but never in pleasure. He honestly thought someone moving around that much and making so much noise was just an overdramatic pornstar, but with Alfred, that wasn't the case. He was genuinely into what Ivan was doing to him, and _fuck_ , he wanted to get inside him. With this in mind he moved as quickly and as gently as he could to open Alfred up for him. He was nearly at the end of his rope by the time Alfred demanded for him to stop teasing.

In a few short movements Ivan got his pants off completely, got into position, and eased himself into Alfred. Both of them moaned as Ivan sunk in, and once every inch was sheathed Ivan paled as he realized something.

"Alfred…I forgot about a condom."

Alfred froze for a moment, then relaxed as he realized just what Ivan said.

"Have you ever had sex with anyone else?"

"No."

"Were you born with AIDS?"

"No."

"Neither am I, and I haven't let anyone fuck me and I can't get pregnant, so… We're good. It's just gonna be a mess in the end," Alfred said nonchalantly and Ivan felt a little foolish for getting worried.

"Right, right… Sorry."

Alfred let out a snort to this.

"Don't be, it was nice for you mention it," he said then leaned up to kiss Ivan's cheek. "Now get moving!"

Ivan let out a laugh, but nodded his head and began to pull his hips back then forward. Alfred moaned lowly and reach up to hold onto Ivan's button up shirt. He held the material tightly as Ivan started to move in and out of him with more force every passing second. He yanked on Ivan's shirt out of reflex when his prostate was hit and a button popped off from the action.

"FUCK!"

Ivan growled as Alfred tightened around him and moved to lay on top of Alfred. He moved his hand down to touch Alfred's face and kissed him on the lips. Alfred moaned into the kiss and Ivan jerked his hips, ramming into Alfred's sweet spot. The blonde cried out into the kiss and when they pulled apart he panted for air. Ivan licked his lips and moved to kiss Alfred's cheek and neck and Alfred did the same once he caught his breath. He tried to leave a hickey on the Russian, but Ivan's thrusts made it hard to do so. He kept pausing to moan or scream into the flesh rather than suck on it to mark it. He even bit down into it from time to time because he'd get surprised by how good it felt. Ivan didn't mind it all, but eventually had to back up so he could adjust his position.

He reared back to grab Alfred's legs and started to really hammer his cock in and out of the teen below. Alfred cried out and clawed at the blanket around him as he felt himself getting close to cumming. Ivan wanted to take pictures of Alfred like this, his shirt had rode up to reveal his left pec—his pink nipple stiff. His face was bright read and a bit of drool trailed from his mouth. His blonde hair was mess and some stuck to his forehead from sweat. Ivan loved the view and could tell that a picture of this could make him cum without fail.

"Alfred," he growled as he pumped his hips harder.

"V-Vanya I can't—I'm gonna cum!"

The instant those words fell from Alfred's kiss swollen lips, Ivan found himself cumming hard into Alfred. He felt hot embarrassment at cumming first, but Alfred didn't seem to mind as he a curse and came soon after him. His cum splattered onto his chest and shirt, and Ivan found himself stuck in the tight heat of Alfred's orgasm. He felt like he could cum all over again just from how tight Alfred felt.

"Wow…" was all Alfred had to say when he finished.

Ivan grunted as he felt Alfred relaxing around him and slipped out of the blonde. Upon doing so he got to see his cum gushing out of Alfred's hole, then looked away in order to not get hard again. He moved to lay down beside Alfred and both shivered as the chill of the room settled onto them.

"We did it," Ivan said in awe.

"Yeah…"

Both of them fell silent after this, basking in the afterglow and the astonishment of what they had just done. It had taken years of fighting and only months of admitting feelings to get to this point and it just, blew their minds.

"You still love me?" Alfred asked, breaking their long silence.

Ivan looked over to Alfred to see him looking back.

"Yes. Do you?"

"Yeah," Alfred said, a smile spreading across his face as he said the word.

Alfred then reached his hand over to Ivan's to wiggle his fingers between his like a spider. Ivan couldn't help the smile that came to his face and he tightened his hold on Alfred's wiggling fingers.

"Hey Vanya?"

"Yes?"

"Wanna do it again?"

Ivan looked at Alfred curiously and Alfred just smiled back sheepishly. Ivan didn't know what to say exactly to that, but something did come to mind.

"So it wasn't like getting fucked by air?"

It took a moment for Alfred to process this, but the moment he did he started to crack up.

"Oh my god! No, no, you've proved me wrong!" he said through a laugh. "Although I reserve the right to call you 'micropenis'."

"Even though it's far from the truth," Ivan said, and Alfred just shrugged his shoulders.

Ivan gave a sigh then took his hand away so he could roll over, getting back on top of Alfred.

"Fine, I could do another round, you shitty hero."

"Says the guy who came first," Alfred said with a smirk that made Ivan blush and start to pinch him.

Ivan was only stopped when Alfred wiggled enough to knock him off. The blond then climbed on top of Ivan and pinched him back, but then kissed him soon after. And once Ivan started to kiss back it didn't take long for either to get back into the mood.

** :/:/:/:/: **

It's rumored that over the summer someone saw the leaders of The Heroes and General Winter Gang going to an abandoned apartment together. They didn't know what happened, but it's guessed that that was the night the gangs became Heroes of Winter. It was also said that they took down half of the Green Rock Gang, which allowed the Far East Dragons to step in and out of both of the rival gang's territory. It was also rumored that the leaders of Heroes of Winter where making out in a movie theater, but no one could really tell.

* * *

***I hope you guys enjoyed it! And thanks a million for sticking around! I had originally planned to have the sex as a bonus chapter but after talking to my awesome friend and editor Tangerine-Forget-Me-Not, it made more scene to include it in the last chapter. Thanks again for reading!***

**XX**

***Now, I'm not sure of what I'll be doing next, well I have an E rated series going on on AO3 and my Tumblr called Bear and Bunny. I'm working on the 5th installment now. So if yall wanna check that out you can. I'm also thinking about doing another Collection of Ink since I'm not retiring like I thought. Things changed and shit happened and well, here I am :T***


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